Altered and Unbalanced
by UnbalancedSoul
Summary: He was told the world was like a set of scales, that everything and everyone balanced each other out. It was the way of the world. But not his. He was shown how to be a bit different, a bit off-balance, right down to the core. This was his gift, his curse, his rise, his fall, his fate. And the only thing easy about it now is seeing how much trouble he truely is.
1. Prolouge

**Hi, all! First fanfic time. Read, enjoy, and review with extreme predjudice. This is the prolouge where we will be meeting the OC that I spent ages working on, Calem! I'll answer questions some of the original stuff if you ask, as some of it is original and therefore isn't just a wiki away.**

 **Enjoy _Altered and Unbalanced_** **readers, hopefully this will be a good one.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Fairy Tail nor any character within this story except for Calem.**

* * *

Calem opened his eyes, he had just fallen asleep, hoping to get some rest for once. But he knew that wouldnt be the case when he saw himself strolling along lazily up the rocky mountain pass in the dead of night.

'Oh no,' he thought, 'not this again.'

Calem remembered the day perfectly, every detail. He could envision the clouded sky of that cold, autumn night, feel the nip of the slight wind chill at his nose, the calm feeling that settled within him after dark, the time when the moon and stars came out, lighting up the world for all to see. It was the best night in a while, but not for him.

Calem figured he would stop by his parents, as just because he was out fulfilling the duty of his clan didn't mean he had to be a total stranger. Ans it was all the same, like it had been ripped straight from his mind. The mountain view in the distance, the path amist the rubble, the eerie feeling in his gut, all just the same. All except for the unsual quiet, which at the time he blamed on the lateness of the hour. But Calem knew the happenings of this dream, this reality that plagued his soul with sadness, which both fueled his magic and resolve and sapped at his mental health, and no amount of excuses could change it.

He would get mad sometimes, mad at the fact that he was seeing this, them, HIM, again for the umpteeth time. But usually, he was just sad. Depressed that he was too late. Today was the usual, as Calem rounded the bend that led to his clan's small village, and there they were. Eight bodies of his family, his friends, his treasured ones. Just like always, he would search the bodies for the two that mattered most, his parents, and like always, they wouldn't be amongst the initial chaos. Seeing all of their faces, eyes wide open, but souls missing, he remembered all of it, all in his dreams, and they forced him to revisit, to remember his pain, to deal with it like a lingering cold. But that didn't mean he wanted to.

Calem felt his chest involuntarily exhale, shamefully relieved at the indentities of the bodies, but his mind knew the truth, and his naive dream-self would too, in time.

Calem saw his body start to run, and he felt what he felt that night all over again. The panic settling in, wishing with all his heart that they were ok, . Like he didn't know what was coming, like the ending would be different. His mind countered these feelings. 'You can't change the past' he thought. But it didn't stop him from hoping, even if that hope was to be routinely crushed.

Per usual, as he rounded the bend his body froze in place and his heart sunk into sadness as he saw the falling corpse of his father, his mother already on the ground, no feeling of soul, magic power, or any life at all from his parents. They were dead, and no matter how far he walked nothing would change that. It was as it was.

But it still made him sad.

This day depressed Calem, ate away at his insides like a virus. His secret that nobody would know, nobody should know. And it was their killer that made his sadness turn to anger, but within that anger, pure uncontrolled fear.

Calem remembered feeling nothing but darkness from their killer, which had become more familiar each time he revisted this moment. It was a kind of darkness that was far too old and far too great for a normal dark wizard. From what Calem remembered, the wizard looked harmless. He seemed older, his hair longer and graying with a posture that was slightly slouched, dressed in basic robes. Despite this, he feared him. Feared the back of this wizard's head. He feared the slight smile he saw before he began to run. He feared what this wizard was capable of, how he was able to kill as easily as he did.

Calem followed his body, feeling the sadness, the rage, the depression, the frustration, all exactly the same as it was the first time. But the greatest of all was the fear. And as he watched his past begin to fade, he remembered what scared him the most about the aging demon he saw that remembered night.

There was no blood.


	2. Chapter 1: Magnolia

**Sorry for the delay, my few readers. I just suck at endings, and with finals being a thing at the moment, I rarely get anytime to write. But hey: 1 Review! I don't mean to be that guy, but please, review and tell me what I've done right or wrong in your opinion, as that only helps me get better. Anyway, right now Calem is waking up, and its just another day. This story, FYI, will change perspectives to however I feel the need to, but mostly Calem, Lucy, and Natsu. Enjoy**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, except for Calem**

* * *

 _Calem_

* * *

"Ow, for the love of..." Calem laid on his back, sore in many places. His eyes blinked the world into view, namely the busted branch that used to be his mattress.

'That's what I get for sleeping in trees,' he thought, not all that surprised he fell, just annoyed. His entire goal was to go unnoticed for as long as possible, deal with his life and goals without notice. Falling out of trees didn't help his cause, it just made him look like an idiot.

Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Calem went through his morning routine, flicking through his mental checklist:

'Surroundings: Lush with plenty of cover from eye and sun along with an abundance of shadows.'

'Physcial Health: Tired, but overall same as yesterday, but now with a new, unwanted, bump.' Calem rubbed the sore spot on the back of his skull, feeling it starting to swell, before going back to his checklist.

'Magic Power,' Calem glanced at his palm, feeling his available power, which was enough, despite his tired body. 'Ready for anything.' He decided, continuing on.

'Mental Health: ...' He stared off into the thick trees, painfully aware it was just him and his thoughts. 'I don't wanna go there. Not yet.' And like that he moved on. He felt it better not to dwell on much. Only his search truely mattered was what Calem kept telling himself.

"Well, I'm awake now, so best I get a move on." Calem announced his status to nobody in particular, but it was comforting to him, lessened the crippling loneliness that followed him around.

'Man, I need a travelling partner. Someone I can talk to so I don't go crazy and...give in.' The thin teen paused to think about this fact, as well as the more upbeat tone of voice that went with it, for a moment, it's pros and cons.

'Company would be nice...'

'Then why don't I go to the nearest town, like I was gonna do anyway, and...'

'But I would have to tell him where we were going, why we were going there, and they would be around me more than they should.'

Calem gave an exasperated sigh, wishing there was a way he could have friends, but he soon dropped the idea of companionship, putting his wants at the bottom of the food chain.

'Nobody deserves to be brought into my mess.' The thought that kept him going, but alone, no matter his true opinions.

Calem stretched all 5'8" of his height before rummaging in the pockets of the torn, wrinkled cloak he wore, searching for his map. Locating it deep in the 3rd pocket, he began alternating looks over the brown paper and the surrounding land, trying to identify where he was in the land of Fiore. After accepting the fact he was lost, Calem picked a direction, pulled on the hood of his cloak, and started walking to where he hoped was civilization and supplies.

* * *

 _Lucy_

* * *

Lucy strode along her usual path, lost in thought. Plue wandered beside her, oblivious to the entire world, per usual. The overcast of the day threatened rain, but Lucy had on her usual attire despite the weather, simply not noticing nor caring of the world around her, save the feeling she was being followed.

'Somethings up, something spooky.' She glanced about, pushing her blonde hair behind her ear and checking the surroundings, 'Everything seems normal, but I better get to the guild. Maybe they can shed some light on my hunch.'

"Careful, miss!" Called the usual boatman, knocking Lucy out of her trance and forcing her off balance on the ledge. She would've fallen, if not for her pink-haired, firebreathing, psuedo-stalker and his annoyingly adorable flying companion grabbing her hand just in time.

"Woah, Luce, maybe you should pay attention when you walk." He said, pulling Lucy back to solid ground. The boy was all too familiar to her, and doubly frustrating. His constant eating, reckless attitude, and boyish immaturity usually had Lucy seething with rage. But that was Natsu, and she could stand him, as Lucy found his jokes and attitude charming more often than not, even if he was a total idiot sometimes.

"Yeah Lucy, I knew you were an airhead, but not that much of one!" His high-flying companion bothered her more, if just purely for his ego, which had gone through the roof long before she had met him.

Lucy sighed, missing the serenity of her thoughts already.

"Natsu, Happy, thanks for the save, but I could do without the wise-cracks." Lucy said while firing a warning glare at them. She tried to be mad, she tried pretty hard, but they had kept her dry, and it was a cold morning. As much as they bothered her, they were her best friends, and life would be dull without them.

"Please, Lucy," Happy started, his tone drier than any desert, "Natsu's here, so wisdom had nothing to do with it." Natsu's previously carefree smile flipped instantly, showing off his fiery tempermant, and pearly-white fangs, at Happy's expense, but Lucy kept walking, ignoring her suddenly fueding friends. She had places to be, questions to ask, and rent to pay.

"Come on, you two. I feel like a job today." Lucy started to move towards the hall at the center of the town of Magnolia, but was stopped, unintentionally, by Natsu, who was still gripping her hand and glaring at Happy. Despite the lack of intention, Lucy still blushed when she noticed what held her back.

"Oooooh. When's the Honeymoon?" Happy teased, snickerring behind his paws, never missing a chance to poke fun, no matter the subject. Natsu immeadiatly let go, light color appearing in his cheeks as he turned towards their destination, suddenly very interested in getting to the guild hall.

"Now is not the time, Cat!" Lucy, on the other hand, freaked out at the defenseless exceed, who ducked behind his dragon-slayer companion in response to the outburst, using his friend as a shield.

"A job sounds refreshing right now, but breakfast comes first, Lucy. Espescially since you didn't have much at your place." Happy nodded from behind him as Natsu folded his toned arms behind his head, one of which was wrapped within a sleeve of his closed jacket. Lucy meanwhile, rolled her eyes slowly so the thick-headed dragon-slayer would see her annoyance.

'Priorities, Natsu, for the love of...' Lucy grit her teeth to keep from drop-kicking the poor guy into the river, suddenly remembering why she left earlier than him.

"Who's fault is that?" Lucy kept her temper in check, trying to reason with him. "I had plenty of food last night, but its always the now with you. And always at the expense of my kitchen and wallet." She sighed again, rubbing her temples, knowing that her logic wouldn't get far with them.

'I don't have the energy to deal with him yet' she thought, Natsu and Happy's antics making her completely forgetting the paranoia and suspicions Lucy once was pondering.

"Well let's just get to Fairy Tail, I'm starving." And with that the conversation muted to a comfortable silence as they began the trek to the center of the city.

"Aye!"

* * *

 _Calem_

* * *

'Fairy Tail? A local guild? Man I spend way too much time out in the woods, I'm out of the loop.' Calem slid silently in the shadows near the two friends, following and eavesdropping on them while running through guild names in his head.

'Maybe there's a lead on his wearabouts, it is a wizard guild after all,' Calem kept his hope at a dull roar, 'I should talk to them now while their numbers are small, just in case.' He kept his pace a few steps behind them, working out his words so he didn't seem like a total creep, which, in theory, he was, but that's besides the point.

"Damn!" Calem heard the female say, her pink-haired and flying cat companions stopping beside her, eyebrows raised with a mix of curiousity and concern. "Forgot something back at my place. Meet you guys there, ok?" Calem watched as the other two waved and kept walking, not at all bothered, as Ms. Blonde ran back the way she came.

'Some friends.' Nobody could see it, but he scowled and followed the blonde instead of her friend, reasoning through his observartions that the female was the more understanding of the two.

'I just hope I don't scare her off...'

'You're the one that is unreasonably judging her friends right now.' Calem groaned almost audibly at the response. The voice it went with seemed like his own, but with that different, more upbeat, tone as before.

'And now you're back, wonderful.'

'Hey, get some consistant company, and I wouldn't need to be here, would I?' Calem waved in the air close to his head, like swatting a fly. An invisble, intrusive, upbeat, bothersome fly.

'Harder than it looks, figment me. Now, shush, I'm planning my words.' He could hear his sassier self laugh.

'There's your problem right there: you think too much. Conversations are natural, calm, and relative. Planning your exact words makes it forced, rough around the edges. You won't get anywhere with people.'

'Says my imagination.' Calem kept his eyes on the girl, who had fallen into a brisk pace toward her destination, splitting his concentration between his thoughts and his plan.

'Hey, I'm you, so this is your own logic. Don't be so down.'

'Just go away.'

'You got it, pal. But heed my advice, or your own advice, if you choose to think about it like that, we being one in the same and all.' Calem moaned again into his cloak, nerves pricked. He desperately didn't want a headache, and theorizing mental voices wouldn't help.

'Byeeee!'

'Leaving!' His figmented "friend" left him alone again, watching the young, pretty, blonde stroll into a building, leaving Calem no choice, so he bunked down at the building side-alley and pulled his hood farther up.

'I guess I wait.'

* * *

 _Lucy_

* * *

Lucy closed the door to her apartment behind her, running through the possible locations of her latest novel idea. She promised Levy she could read it when the first chapter was done, and it was. But there was something else there too, that eerie, I'm-being-followed-again-but-don't-tell-the-guild feeling. At the same time though, she didn't feel in danger, just curious.

"Book." One word, and the attention span Lucy had on all topics formed into one, finding those goddamn pages. There were a lot of places possible: mixed in with her letters; amongst another project; under her bed, and several of which involved Natsu.

'Sooo...none pleasant,' she concluded upon sifting through the list. How hard was it to find a few of pages? Certainly not as hard as writing them?

"Book!" Lucy repeated, more forcefully this time, keeping her mind on track. It helped, but didn't entirely work. Her mind kept slipping into daydreams of Natsu reading it with Gray, Erza, or worse: Happy. And there was still that weird feeling she was getting...

"Princess? Are you looking for something?" Lucy jumped at the familair spirit's voice, something she heard many times over and a voice she hoped to keep hearing for years to come. It was the Celestial Spirit of the Maiden.

"Virgo," Lucy started catching her breath while leaning on her desk, the pink-haired, maid-outfit clad spirit staring intently at her, head cocked to the left slightly, "don't startle me like that." Virgo, upon the complaint, got a sudden faraway look in her eyes. Lucy knew what was next.

"You are upset. Should I be punished?" Virgo, despite the morbid request, seemed thrilled at the idea of her own torture. Lucy, however, did not.

"No, Virgo. Just...no." She began to rub her temples, which she learned helped her sanity stay put. "What compelled you to pass through your gate? To help me look?"

'I wouldn't object,' she added mentally. Unfortunatly for her, Virgo shook her head.

"Sorry, but no, Princess. I crossed over to tell you that someone is following you, that's all. Be careful, and good luck with you expedition!" Virgo faded away in a flash of gold, leaving the bewildered Lucy alone with her thoughts and rising paranoia.

'Following me? What? How? Why? I didn't sense anything? Or did I? Maybe that's what I was feeling, and Virgo wouldn't steer me wrong, would she? Maybe Loki put her up to this, though. But he isn't that mean, right? Ahhh!' Lucy sat down in her worn, wooden chair, thinking over this new knowledge with a fine-tooth comb, which let her building nervousness get the better of her.

'Its probably a he, and he is super creepy, for sure. What if he is this A-Class pervert? He couldn't be watching me, could he? Magic is a fickle thing. Ohhhh...what-am-I-gonna-do?!' She started pacing the floor of her apartment, stressing at this follower's mere existance. Stressing, until another friend crossed over to help.

"Jeez, Lucy...pull it together." Lucy looked up from biting her nails to see another shimmering gold figure. This welcome company looked sharp, a usual for him, with deep orange hair like a lion's mane and blue tinted shades, which he pushed up when Lucy met his gaze.

"Hey, Loki. Guess you heard." Loki, or Leo the Lion as he could be known. Stood with his excellent posture in front of her. Lucy, while she knew she would never admit it to Loki and his oversized ego, was instantly calmed by his presence.

"Yeah, Virgo can't keep secrets to well. Not her fault. She's just eager, sometimes."

"Don't I know it."

"Yeah. So, this intruder...what are you going to do about him?" Lucy looked out the window next to her bed, which was habitually open due to Natsu's apparent allergy to her front door. But she perked up after a moment staring, thinking about how her Fairy Tail comerades would handle an invader.

"Guess I've just gotta face my follower. Tell the creep to bug off. I can handle that." Lucy stated the reassurance outloud, convincing herself of her capabilities, Loki's presence and the idea of her guildmates clobbering this clown making her braver than she felt.

"That's the way. Go get 'em, tiger, and feel free to call me anytime, for anything." Lucy saw Loki off with a symultaneous smile and glare. With newfound confidence, Lucy wanted to strut off and give this stalker a piece of her mind (and the ol' 1-2), but she felt like she was forgetting something.

"Book!"

* * *

 **Chapter 1 is UP! Yes! I'm sorry, but this being my first story and all, its pretty cool. I'm stoked, yes, stoked. Anyway to business: Review Responses. I figured I'd do 'em since i keep making a big deal about reviews and how you should...do them. So time to put my money where my mouth is.**

 **From lovelylittlebow:**

 **I know this is only the prologue, and I wanted to wait until more of the story came out, but it was just so excited to see you writing something so interesting and mysterious! And to be honest, OC's usually turn me off when reading a story, but I love how real you wrote Calem already. You gave him so many conflicting emotions to deal with (angry, depressed, afraid). And the plot seems to different from everything else I've read. I'm very excited to read more. :)**

 **(Don't I know you? ;)) Thanks! Im glad I could hold your interest even with an OC. To be honest, OC are hit and miss with me as well, as you need to craft them right and put themnin the right senario to fit within the other character arcs. I tried to do that, and only time will tell if it pans out. And for me, emotions and capability are the keys to character. If they dont FEEL, how do you get invested in him/her, and if they are totally unable to do anything right, then why should I like him/her? Thank you though for the kind words. I really do try to make this interesting, from character, plot, and action standpoints.**


	3. Chapter 2: Warnings

**So...I finished this 2 days ago, but tornadoes and thunderstorms like to impeade progress by removing all electricity from my house. For 1 & 1/2 days. I swear that's the truth, but who cares. You aren't here to read about my sob story of total boredom. So, read, relax, and review if you want, as I realize I may have sounded too desperate last time. Whatever, just enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the characters, nor the title, Fairy Tail. My only property in this story is Calem.**

* * *

 _Calem_

* * *

Calem waited. And waited. And waited. And continued to wait for what felt like an eternity, he didn't know how much time actually passed (if he had just paused to look around, he would've noticed only 10 minutes had gone by).

'Damn, what is taking her so long? I've don't have all day!' Calem drummed his fingers on his knee with one hand while shifting about the other through his cloak's pockets. His plan was seamless, simple: just wait, watch, and listen. Then, when she comes out, speak calmly and ask for directions. No big deal. At least, it wasn't suppossed to be.

'Correction.' Calem groaned once more at the noise of his contrasting self, causing some passerbys to peer into the shadows where he hid. They didn't see him, but the gesture still made him uncomfortable.

'Just what I need, you breathing down my neck.'

'Make that two: I don't breathe. Figment of your imagination, remember? And you also DO have all day. What could you possibly be late for?'

'Why now? After all this time, now is when I lose my sanity? Why?'

'...You're avoiding the question...'

'Don't you know? You are me, right? It's not WHAT I'm late for, not even close. It's WHO could be rushing to me.' Calem shruddered at the thought, but he had been jumped before. However careful he thought he was being, however well he covered his tracks and planted traps, they always managed to find him...somehow. He took another gander at his surroundings, mentally and physically, but didn't see, hear, or feel anything dangerous nor altered in any way.

'Ahhhh, touché, I see your point.' Calem nearly jumped at the sound, forgetting he was in a conversation. 'Yeah, better we spend as little time as possible here. Get the destination and scope the area a bit. Just don't be too unfriendly, or we get to hear more of each other.' Figmented, snappy, Calem quieted for the moment, pleasing his real, restrained counterpart, allowing him to fully immerse himself in the waiting.

After another moment of silent waiting, Calem watched his blonde target exit the building, but much more timidly then how she strutted in, which Calem thought strange. He didn't really see her as the self-conscious type. At least, from what he saw of her in the past hour.

'It's like she is watching out for someone...' Once this thought hit, Calem, much to his dismay, began to panic a bit. He felt his breathing quicken ever so slightly, and questions raced through his head. Did she notice him? She must have, why else would she be acting so cautiously. He didn't feel any other magic presence besides this blonde and himself. But how? No normal person could detect him in his hiding spot, not one.

'So how...? Whatever, but what do I do? This was not the plan. She was suppossed to remain blissfully oblivious until I wanted her to notice.' Calem sighed not seeing a way to salvage his obscurity. 'I guess I'll just have to wing it...damn.'

Calem started slow, making sure to keep himself from freaking out any passerbys by his sudden emergence. It wasn't too crowded, so a previously unnoticed teen suddenly appear was bound to get some attention, and a few missplaced restraining orders. Steadily, he stepped toward his blonde subject in the most natural and unthreatening way he could, pressing his first finger gently on her shoulder.

"Excuse me?" He began, ever wary of his surroundings. The blonde of which he hadn't a name made a sharp turn in his direction, obviously tentative.

"Hello, Ms. I was wondering if-" His words, his carefully pondered words, were never finished due to a flying, booted, heel finding where his jaw sat, knocking those words back down his throat and him facefirst onto the cobblestone street at the edge of the turn into his alley.

'You try to be nice...' Calem thought, rubbing his second new bruise of the day. But he kept his soulful anger tame with his head, reasoning that she didn't know his intentions, and hostility is only reasonable, if not too kind.

He felt her get closer behind him, angry if nothing else. 'Jeez, what did I do to deserve this?' Calem held up a hand to stop her assault before it got too out of hand. He didn't quite feel like dying.

'Wow, you are worse than expected.'

'Quiet, she is just overreacting.'

'And whose fault is that?'

'Shut up.'

* * *

 _Lucy_

* * *

Lucy figured that kick would knock him out. From his look, she didn't think her follower looked too threatening. And he, from his modest attire of old jeans, a wrinkled black shirt, barely fitting shoes and a torn-up long, hooded, cloak, seemed not so much the stalker type, but rather a nomad of sorts.

'Why do I attract all the wierdos?' Lucy wondered as she walked closer to her stalker-turned-victim. His hood had remained up during his fall, and he held up a hand, which Lucy took as a sign to not kick again.

"Who are you, and what do you want with me?" A simple statement, as those were the questions she wanted answers to. The cloaked figure stood, keeping a open palmed hand facing her, the other on his concealed jaw.

"My name," There was a pause, as if he was debating the answer, "...isn't important. All I want to know is where I am, and if you've heard of any suspicious happenings nearby." Lucy crossed her arms with a pout, no longer seeing him as a threat she couldn't handle. Now this stranger was more of a lost puppy to her, albeit a mysterious and hooded puppy. A puppy she would figure out the name of.

"I don't answer questions to people without names."

"I'd rather you didn't know, honestly."

"Then you get no help from me."

"Really? That's what upsets you? All I'm wondering is where I am!" Lucy almost got a look at his face, but her new stranger friend kept his head down just enough to prevent that.

"Tell me your name, else you'll just keep wondering."

"I'll ask someone else then..."

"No, you won't. After all this and how long it took you to ask me, you don't think you'll get another chance to ask another, do you? These people are nice, but pretty superstitious." Lucy leaned slightly to the right, hands on her hips in triumph.

"Wow...you're probably right..."

"I know. So...name?" The her cloaked conversation partner shook his head instantly.

"Don't you realize there is a reason I'm not telling you? My name is dangerous. If you know me, they will find out, and then hunt you down too." He clasped his hands over his mouth as soon as he said it, then turned away just as quickly, and Lucy saw his eyes for in that fleeting moment. They were a deep, melted chocolate brown. But his eye color was the least of her curiousities after what he imlied a moment ago. Millions of questions had spawned within seconds.

"Who's they? Are you a fugitive? From who, or where?" The more time she spent interrogating the guy, the more her interests were peaked, and the more questions she had. But the cloaked teen shook his head again and looked straight at her with a glare that meant business.

"Stop. Please." His tone was deadly serious. "It's already bad enough that you know I exist. Just tell me what I need to know, please, then forget me. This way is the best for your health." Lucy was taken aback. His tone was almost desperate. Lucy knew she had to stop playing games.

"This is Magnolia, like the flower." As soon as she told him, her hidden acquaintance turned to leave, but Lucy reached out and gripped his shoulder before he got too far. "If you are in trouble, come to Fairy Tail with me. It's the best wizard guild around, and we can help you. Or at least we can try." Lucy felt his body stutter, as if he was surprised at the kindness she showed. But it was just for a moment, and afterwards he regained the mysterious composure he had.

"It's better I didn't. For your, and your guild's, sake, forget me, and watch your back for a bit." He turned to leave once more, and Lucy pondered kicking the subborn fool again. But she kept it down, knowing that she needed to be reasonable. Her former stalker had obvoiusly suffered a great deal, and Lucy figured it was best that he was left alone. However, she was determined to convince him to trust her, to let her and Fairy Tail help him, and to learn his name. But someone else had a response to say before hers.

"I think its a bit too late for you and your new friend, mate." A solitary voice, distinctly accented, from behind her, and both of them turned to face their visitor. People began to give the three space, or avoid the standoff completely. Lucy instinctively reached for her keys, fingerring through the golden items. She didn't know who their new intruder was, or what he wanted with her and the stubbornly nameless one, but she wouldn't take it lying down.

* * *

 _Fairy Tail Guild Hall_

* * *

"Hey, Natsu?" Happy sat atop the bar counter next to the dragon-slayer, enjoying the last of his fish breakfast. Natsu nodded to show he was listening, drinking from a mug filled with flames. "Lucy has been gone awhile, longer than it should take. Maybe we should go get her before all the good jobs are gone." Natsu nodded again, knowing Happy was right and wondering what could be taking her so long. The lost object?

Natsu pondered what she could be searching for, but that didn't last him long. He was itching to get today going. His stomach was full, and he was in the mood to fight someone.

"Alright, Happy," Natsu slurped the last of the fire in the mug, "but let's grab a job before going. We can go right from Lucy's." Happy lept up from his seat, wings sprouting from green light in midair, leaving the skeleton of the poor fish he devoured in his place as he followed his friend through the crowd of wizards and to the request board.

"Aye, we'll definitely catch the train if we leave now." Natsu gagged at the thought.

"Don't say 'trains'." Natsu felt himself turning green until he remembered that he wasn't on a train. Not yet at least. Happy rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the board.

"How 'bout this one?" Happy pointed to one he picked at random.

"Nah."

"This one?"

"Nope."

"This?"

"Not really feelin' that one." Happy groaned with irritation.

"Then which, if all my choices are sub-par?" Natsu turned his full attention to the board, squinting his eyes in focus, analyzing each description until he found the best one, and sported a winning grin upon doing so.

"This one!" Natsu reached for his job of choice while another hand also did so, a paler hand. The two reached, and grasped, the flier simultaneously, glaring instantly at each other, both not caring who the other was.

"Gray? Getcha hands off!" Natsu instantly recognized his archrival, Gray Fullbuster. And, due to Gray's similarly stubborn nature, he did not let go.

"Or what? What are you gonna do about it?" Both mages kept one hand plastered to the board on the job of choice, and they glared at each other with extreme distaste, seconds turning into minutes, the air both cooling and heating the longer the confrontation continued.

Finally, Gray stripped off his shirt and jacket, which, in turn, started several dull conversations from the surrounding onlookers of the guild.

"Oh dear. There they go again."

"Those two...will they ever get along?"

"How does he strip his entire upper body in one move?"

"Beats me, but I hope this job is worth it." Everyone watched and waited for the first move to be made, not because was a spectical, but for the sheer entertainment. Unfortunately for those starting to take bets, the fight would never go beyond an angry staring contest.

"That's enough you two." An armor clad woman with long scarlet hair fearlessly gripped the fueding wizards by the backs of their necks, slamming the two together. The masses groaned, wanting to see brawl.

"Yes, ma'am," both Natsu and Gray mumbled on the wood floor. A white haired women, wearing a fancyish red dress, daitily strolled through the crowd, which parted as she passed, and up to the request board.

"Erza, don't you think you are a bit too rough with them?" She said this with a smile, as she had come to accept the dynamic between the three of them. But it still was a question worth asking, in her mind.

"No Mira, it never crossed my mind. Why?" Mire just shrugged, her curiousity satisfied, while Natsu and Gray were beginning to get it together. Another girl, significantly younger than the rest, walked through the fiasco, grabbed the job of interest, and read the flier with extreme wondering along with a second flying feline, this one white.

"What could be worth all this trouble?" Said the hoverring cat, who went by the name Carla. As the two read the paper though, their eyes widened, despite the shortness of the message.

"Whatsit say, Wendy?" Asked Happy, who hovered unwantingly close to Carla, triggerring her automatic reflex to push the tomcat away. Wendy just swallowed, and everyone in the hall moved closer to hear what the flier had to say.

"Apparently, Magnolia is in danger, all wizards should be ready, and that he would explain all at this address." Wendy stated, beginning to shake, her natural fear of sudden disaster getting the best of her. Erza took the flier and read it with her own eyes, analyzing the old parchment. It spooked her too, but she had her doubts.

"Mirajane, is there any record of this job's submittance?" She reached into a cupboard under the board for a large book filled with all the jobs they have ever taken or posted on the mighty board.

"No nothing here about something like this...are you thinking it's a prank?" Mira voiced her prayers, not wanting this flier to be true, her and everyone in the hall.

"I don't know. Its certainly possible, but from the sound of it, he or she is afraid of one person destroying Magnolia. It just seems unreal, but anything is possible." Erza lacked the appropriate knowledge she desired to make a clean assumption, and that above anything else frustrated her.

"So what if it is real? I could handle any clown that wants to destroy this place!" Natsu was back on his feet, raring to go. "And if it is just one guy, well that would make it one hell of a fight!" He smashed his fist into his oppisite palm, but nobody had the will to even chuckle, all worried about what could be true.

"Are you serious, numbskull?" Gray retorted from his spot on the floor, still shirtless. "One guy blowing up a whole town without any sort of assistance or amplification? Impossible." Gray looked away in disgust, focussing back on his thoughts. Natsu prepared a retort, but Erza scared him away from the idea with a look that would have any beast heading for hills.

"Let's just focus on the flier for now. It would hurt to check something like this out. Natsu, Gray, go grab Lucy from her apartment and head to the requested location." The rivalling mages wanted to protest, but Erza stopped them with a second 'look', causing the boys to salute and head out the door, Happy hot in pursuit. Erza, sighing, turned to the guild.

"Levy, Juvia, and I will start asking around for suspicious activity. The rest - stay alert! What's true isn't clear at the moment, so be absolutly sure of everything you look at. Its the duty of Fairy Tail to protect this town, so don't take this lightly!" Her speach got resounding cheers, and she headed toward the door with two other girls, a shorter one in a sleaveless orange dress who was putting away her glasses, the other with flowing blue hair who was coverred head to toe with coats and warmth. The three headed out of the hall into the city, where they hoped to falsify their worries.

But they all felt in their guts that something was about to happen. The just didn't know what.

* * *

 **Climax is around the bend? Already? Not quite, I've still got quite a bit planned for this story, so just you was wait. Next chapter, titled Assault, will be up as soon as I finish and edit it, and that will be fairly action oriented, compared to the other two chapters. No review responses today, so yeah. Hope you enjoyed, and if you didn't feel free to tell me why via review - hold nothing back. I'm out for now.**


	4. Chapter 3: Assault

**Stuff is actually happening in this chapter! Actual action-y stuff. And even more impressive, Natsu and pretty much the entirety of Fairy Tail aren't in this chapter. Just Calem and Lucy. This chapter is also a bit longer than the previous 2 and Prologue. Hope everyone who does read this enjoys, and remember to rate, review, all that jazz.**

 ** **Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the characters, nor the title, Fairy Tail. My only property in this story is Calem.****

* * *

 _Calem - A few Minutes Prior_

* * *

"I think it's a bit too late for you and your friend, mate," claimed the accented, and not to mention familiar, voice. Calem swore under his breath, not bothering to turn around.

'Wow, these guys always know wherever you are, whenever you are there. At the most inconvieniet times, too.' Calem agreed with his other self. This unwanted guest certainly knew how to find him, and fast at that. But there was one, he noticed, missing from his dynamic stalker duo.

"-And, don't think of running, like I know you are." The merc was right about one thing, Calem was thinking of running; too many variables in play, too many watchful eyes. But he hesitated, feeling like he was forgetting about something. Then it hit him.

 _The Girl._

Calem looked back, watching the blonde stand defiantly against the assailant, most likely not comprehending what exactly they were after, which is to say him. No, she stood against her foe, hand fiddling about in a leather pouch on her hip, with sheer willpower.

Why is he pausing to think about a girl prying into business she shouldn't? Why?

'In a way it's admirable: how she can stand against the unknown so willingly.' Calem wanted to scoff, to prove himself wrong, but he couldn't. He thought the same.

'Still,' he reasoned, keeping his realist approach to the senario, 'she won't stand much of a chance if I know this guy's skill level at all. And the other one has yet to reveal himself. Better get out while I've got the chance.'

'But what about her? Are you going to leave her to fend for herself?'

'Those two will follow me. It's best I lead them elsewhere.' Calem kept the dirty stare he held on the guy that faced them. The merc returned the stare, looking straight through the female stood between them. And as much as Calem wanted to concentrate on the easiest escape route, his other self wasn't done discussing the matter.

'You can't be serious?' the voice questioned, 'You just said she couldn't handle him! So why leave for her to do exactly that? Don't you remember anything you were taught?'

Calem remembered his teachings vividly, every detail of every day, surpassing the point of obsession. His dad showed him everything he needed to know about his magic and the way they lived, the way they blended in, all while helping society further itself into age after age. But always one thing was made clear...

 _"You are always to help. Small or large, aid will always be given by us to those you ask." Calem's father forced the idea, clarifying its importance._

 _"Yeah, help people, be nice and friendly and stuff. Can we get to-," Calem got bopped on the head, not to hard, but hard enough to shut his younger self up._

 _"No, you fail to see the meaning of your lessons," Calem leaned his head to the side, prompting a patient sigh from his father and teacher._

 _"This world," he continued, "needs aid contantly. Everyday, help is given, and received, by many. Many of these acts go unnoticed, or unvalued. But it is needed, nevertheless, as this help maintains the balance. Just as a shadow can only appear in sunlight." Calem gave a bothered sigh, not understanding._

 _"Wonderful, Dad, but what does that mean? What's all this talk of sunlight and necessary balance and stuff?" His father gave nothing but a chuckle._

 _"Soon you will understand our ways. You have the makings of a fine mage, son, but understanding is something you lack."_

Calem shook himself out of the flashback. Now was not the time for reminising on the past. Now was the time for dealing with advancing wizards.

Calem held his position, keeping the threat of it, hands tucked in two of various pockets, while the second of the duo dropped, literally, a few yards ahead of him. The accented one smiled at his appearance. Calem and his blonde companion did not.

"Its all over now, mate. Now you got me to deal with, and nowhere to hide." His grin only got larger, to the point where his associate, a much burlier fellow dressed entirely in gray, rolled his eyes. He also interlocked his straightened fingers while taking a wide stance.

"Stone Make: Enclosure!" His voice was gruff, but his magic was noting but effective. Several gray magic circles appeared behind himself, his friend, across the side alley, and more, all of which sprouted walls of solid gray stone. The stone walls sealed all 4 wizards within a box, forcing them to face each other head on.

Calem patted his hand on the dry stone, assuring to himself that it was indeed actual stone and no mere illusion. His mind began to sharpen, knowing that a fight was now inevitable.

'Do you get it?' Calem sighed, not wishing to dwell on the subject of his father's teachings. The more he thought about them, the more he wanted to curl up in the fetal position and sob. And there were more pressing matters to solve than his messed up emotional state. So, Calem was honest and direct, hoping to return his focus away from painful thoughts.

'No, not really. But he said to help people, and my dad is usually right. Plus, I can't get caught, so dealing with them now is best.'

'...alright, so that's a start. But you still don't get it, do you?'

'Nope. Now shush. If aid is what we are supposed to give, then here I go.' Calem turned to where the waterway used to be and stood defiant, ready to act.

"Ok, tough guy. This is where it ends!" Calem stood his ground, unitimidated unlike the poor blonde he dragged into his mess. She took a step back, ready but slightly frightened by the trash talk.

"Munitions!" With an ever prevalent accent, and another eye-roll from his gruffer partner, the merc summoned another magic circle in front of him, this one a deep red and with several notches poking out. With the circle summoned, he flamboyantly spun it like a wheel, still grinning. That grin never halted when he stopped the swiftly rotating circle with one notch pointing straight up, palms facing toward his target and a bystander he cared nothing about. In that position, he called out his first next attack.

"Scattershot!" As the words were called, Calem made his move forward into the oncoming barrage of magical bullets, keeping a cool look on his face and all the terror he felt about rushing towards oncoming fire on the inside.

* * *

 _Lucy_

* * *

Lucy felt helpless. Sure, she stood tall, defiant, and ready for action, but it was just a ruse. She actually couldn't feel her legs, and her arms were stuck on her keys, unable to decide which spirit to summon, if she could manage to move her arms at all. But despite her lack of mobility, she knew exactly what was going on. The maker magician behind her, the arrogant munitions mage in front of her, and the x-factor of her cloaked companion.

Lucy tried, and failed, to gulp. She didn't know what he would do.

'Any question the guy actually responds to just prompts 10 more. What do I make of him? Should I attack him, too? He didn't seem like a threat...at least not to me.' Lucy got so lost on the subject, theorizing possible actions for her new favorite subject, that she didn't hear the foreign one cry out his gunfire attack. Nor did she see her very subject of thought move.

It was phantasmic. One moment he was a couple yards behind her. The next, directly in front, cloak whipped in front of them like a shield, blocking all the magically formed bullets upon contact. He pushed her onto her knees, seemingly aware of all details that surrounded them.

"You're a wizard too, right?" The cloak held under the storm of enchanted bullets, and Lucy noticed each depression of the cape. Distracted by the rush if events, she could only manage a nod.

"Good, get ready. There is only the two of them, so one each. I'll take the guman for now, the other is straight behind you. Yell if you need help, or want to switch." Every thought was organized around the idea of efficiency, and Lucy couldn't keep up to his rapid thought process. But she still had one question that did stick out.

"...Name?" He sighed once more, followed by a flash look in all directions.

"I guess it doesn't hurt now they know where I am. I'm known as Calem Amaro." She nodded, absorbing the desired information.

"Lucy." She responed, not exactly sure why she was telling a possibly dangerous wizard her name.

"Enchanted. And try to keep your distance, because I may just be the worst thing that has happened to you." With that last line leaving a cold feeling in Lucy's gut, Calem pulled a small bottle from his back pocket and smashed it on the ground violently. A black plume of smoke pillowed until Lucy lost sight of him. She gulped and looked at who she was suppossed to deal with, the burly, wrestler-looking, stone maker mage.

'Great. I get to duke it out with this giant while my one ally declared himself a walking safety hazard. Why does this always happen to me?' Lucy didn't back down though, despite her unwillingness, and pulled from the ring on her hip the golden, axe-shaped key to the door of her own meathead strongman, or rather, ox. Lucy flashed a smile and held the key out to her adversary, who seemed extremely confused.

"Open: Gate of the Golden Bull - Tauros!" Her golden, axe shaped key glowed brilliantly, and from the light a ripped man-bull wielding a large axe materialized, ready for combat. Ready until he looked at Lucy.

"Morning, Ms. L-oo-cy! Hope I'm here for a s-mooo-ch!" Lucy took a deep breath, used to Tauros' perverted antics and how to deal with them. Her opponent only managed to become more confused as the conversation continued.

"Tauros, this guy is a problem right now." She pointed in the direction of the stone wizard, who looked offended. "Think you can handle him?"

"Do I get a kiss if I d-oo?" His pupils changed into hearts as he stared lustfully at her, to which Lucy simply sighed, infinite patience with the celestial bull.

"I promise that I'll think about it."

"Then this guy better prepare to be going va-moo-se!" Heaving the oversized axe above his head, and showing little signs of effort, the humanoid bull charged with the might of several trains and cleaved the street where his target once stood with a powerful overhead swing.

The maker mercenary, only just moving aside in time, held a open-palmed hand toward Lucy to claim diplomacy.

"Hold on, girlie," he, in the knick of time, managed to duck and roll under a heavy horizontal slash. Tauros wouldn't let his target's words get in the way of his unlikely kiss.

"We've got no business with you. My partner is just a bit eager, probably didn't even see you if I'm being honest. Just be about your day and forget this encounter." Lucy scoffed, and Tauros slashed at the surprisingly quick-footed maker mage.

"You'd think I'd leave after this? Calem just asked for directions, so what's your problem with a traveller?" The merc sidestepped another overhead chop that shattered the cobblestone below, all the while keeping his face devoid of as much emotion as he could manage.

"So his name is Calem?" Lucy glared, awaiting an answer, which her adversary was happy to give. "How should I know why our boss wants him. He only gave us a discription and said to grab him alive. That's all I need." She watched him start a shrug, but get interrupted by Tauros once more.

"Would you call off your spirit? This is pointless. I don't want to use any more force than necessary." He took a ready stance, seeming to already know her answer, and Lucy didn't dissapoint.

"In your dreams. Calem did nothing wrong."

"As far as you know."

"Like you have all the answers."

"No, but I do know you're in the way of my mission. So..." he interlocked his fingers and closed his eyes, another large, gray magic circle appearing in front of him as Lucy told Tauros to charge at him for the umpteeth time.

"Stone Make: Drill!" From the circle formed a fully functional drill, which met the attacking bull midway in a heavy collision that had sparks flying.

Lucy watched the confrontation of stone drill and spirit, neither side giving an inch. She could see her foe staring her down, eyes calculating her position, not missing any detail, no matter how small. Her hand twitched next to her whip - the Flueve d'étoiles - believing she was ready for any advance.

Except one from underground.

"Stone Make: Roots!" Several stone cylinders shot out of the ground and began to twist about, knocking Lucy off her feet and Tauros back to the World of Celestial Spirits with several well placed blows to the gut, shoulders, and knees. She laid prone on the ground, sore in several places, as her adversary strolled through his carnage of stone, clapping slowly.

"Don't take this personally, but you are an obstruction, and therefore must be removed." Lucy could only lay unprepared as she watched the mercenary take full advantage of this granted opening, eyes cold, experienced, and unyielding. Their eyes stayed locked as he came closer, but he quickly changed that, and Lucy gasped as he delivered a solid kick to her forehead. Lucy watched with fluttering eyes, and a now splitting headache, him then take his stance.

"Stone Make: Press!" A oversized stamp-press formed over her head, and Lucy's eyes widened from her place lying on the floor, her newly concussed mind suddenly understanding his defintion of 'removed'. The wizard, and therefore press, wasted no time in coming down full force, ready to crush the obstructive force that Lucy was being.

With all the stress, threat of death, contusion, and no reason to believe she would live through the next few seconds, Lucy froze, then passed out, only hearing the breaking of a bottle and getting the sudden feeling of paranoia before slipping into unconsciousness.

* * *

 _Calem - While that was Happening_

* * *

Calem instantly felt calmer. The girl was a wizard, and she could handle herself. He tasked himself with defeating a simple muntions wizard, and there was a plume of smoke covering him in comforting darkness as well as giving him the fight advantage. Simple, straightforward, no extra baggage.

And yet...

'Something troubling you? Because now really isn't the best time.' Calem was jarred from his private thoughts.

'Well, since you asked so nicely, yes there is.' The was a silence, so Calem took it as a sign to continue. 'These two mercenaries, I didn't sense their presence at all.'

'And?' Calem sighed as his smoke started to clear away.

'And that means that something concealed them, making their power hard to notice when I wasn't paying attention, and there is only one way that's possible.'

'If you're saying that these two have had contact, DIRECT contact, with HIM, then you're nuts. They are no more than hired help. Crude, inefficent, and not worth it to him. What makes them so special?' Calem sighed once more, his hooded face and cloaked chest now exposed to sunlight, never losing sight of his opponent.

'They have been chasing me for a week now. There must be some reason they are always so close.' With that thought, his second voice of reason laughed heartily, a expression he never thought he would hear himself make.

'Well, the easiest way to a destination is a straight line. We want answers, so the best way to get them is to...?' He symultaneously smiled and frowned at the implications as the smoke completely dissapated. No matter his skill at them, open fights weren't really his style, they caused too much uproar. But the chance for answers, real answers, was too good to pass up.

'Ask.' Calem watched his adversary prepare himself as he dropped the hood that covered his thin face and, after a beat, took off into combat, one hand at the ready, the other deep in another cloak pocket.

His first punch, a simple swing for the jaw, was deflected easily, and Calem was granted a kick to the gut for his troubles, followed by a shove in the oppisite direction.

"Do you think this is my first rodeo, so to speak?" A smug sneer grew on his face while Calem coughed into his cloak. The merc walked forward in an attempt to be threatening, spinning a smaller version of his munitons wheel in his right hand.

"All this hassle, the chasing, the secrecy, for this. A teen with a long cloak? What makes you so special?" Calem stood tall just to receive another deflating blow to his stomach, causing another fit of ravenous coughing.

Unfortunately for the overconfident foe, that coughing turned into laughter when Calem dropped something at his feet, which fractured upon hitting the cobblestone street. Soon, both combatants were at the epicenter of another large smoke cloud, and Calem took a large step back into it, away from his lost opponent.

'He bought it.' Was the basic thought going through his head. There was no time for expansive thinking now. His plan had worked, now was the fun part.

"What makes me special?" Calem taunted from the safety of the mist, bewildering his foe. "Absolutely nothing, except you and your employer. I'm just trying to live my life. And if you call that special," at that moment, he swooped in, planting several strikes to the lower back and gut that dropped his opponent on his knees, "then so be it."

'Location, location, location!' The voice of his optimism sang in Calem's head.

"Not bad,' spat the kneeling munitions wizard, "with moves like this, you might be worth the paycheck we're gonna get. Name's Allister, so you know who to swear revenge upon." Calem was silent, so Allister continued his monologue, all the while switching the round-type he would use. "And yours-truely didn't get to his level of notoriety by getting outplayed by teenagers."

"I'm sure," Calem mused back, enjoying the trash talk, "you did it by getting your ass beat by kindergardners, right?" He could hear the annoyance and anger in the silence.

'That was childish.' Calem nodded to himself. It was fairly childish.

'And that's what made it effective.' He retorted, the tense silence his proof. Calem smiled. All was going well, he remained unseen and relatively untouched. A few more moments and...

*THUD!*

'What was that?' Calem voiced in his head.

'Yes, ask me. Like I'll know.'

'Don't be so-'

*CLICK!*

'Did he just snap his fingers?'

'Don't bother asking, cause-'

*BOOM!* The area exploded around them, clearing the smoke instantly and forcing Calem off his feet into the surrounding stone walls. When he opened his eyes, ears ringing, Allister was calmly strolling towards his sitting position on the street, which gave Calem the chance to peek at how Lucy was doing.

Not great, was what his foggy vision had managed to interpret. Stone cylinders were popping through the ground like worms, beating her down into the dirt, looking just as incapable as Calem felt at the moment.

Calem grit his teeth as Allister lifted him by his collar, starting to regain some senses and feelings besides pain. Annoyance was the first.

'This is stupid.' He complained inside, 'Why can't I just...?' He knew the answer already, but that still didn't make it less bothersome.

'No!' Calem winced, his head beginning to throb from the impact, 'I would rather us take ten of those explosions than use magic right now. He still doesn't know we are here yet. Take these fools down, and he will keep on not knowing. Use magic, and he'll find us no matter if we beat them or not.' Several sharp responses were on the tip of his tongue, but thebright light of the sun on his face brought Calem from his mind into the world, where he found his senses had returned.

"Like my explosive rounds?" Not the best thing to hear right after blowing up, and Allister seemed to be loving the victorious feeling. "A much cruder way to get the job done, not really my thing. However," a snake-like grin stretched across his face as he spun that magic wheel Calem now despised, "my piercing rounds will go right through you, quick and clean."

Allister pressed two fingers against Calem's sternum, ready to end him on a whim. "Any last words?" He said, about a foot from his face, sporting a look Satan would be intimidated by. At leas he was enjoying himself. But Calem stayed silent, not humoring the over-the-top mercenary.

'Any last words? Really? All the oneliners, and that's what he goes with? Dude, I would rather get killed horribly by anyone else, just not this clown.' Calem held back an eyeroll.

'Working on it, and your not helping.'

Fortunately, Calem was granted time to think when Allister became distracted by his partner's readiness to mercilessly crush Lucy.

"You go, Steve!" He called out, laughing while Calem's mind worked double time. There were several solutions. But they were magical solutions, and magic at the moment was a huge no-no. Then the best thing could've happened.

Allister turned him, fingers still pressed against his back, to watch his possible new friend, a complete innocent to the game he played, get crushed by a giant stone spatula.

'This is great.' Sarcasm drooled from his tone. There was an arm around his neck, two life threatening fingers at his back, and the first possible fatality of the day in the form of a helpless Lucy.

But Calem knew he had them. The distraction, the tools, the underestimation, they were set exactly right. All he needed to do was create the moment.

Using one hand to unclip his cloak, feigning a shoulder bruise, Calem reached for two more bottles out of reachable pocket.

'Perfect.' Now it was go-time. Time seemed to slow as he began to enact his plan.

Calem first snapped his fingers in front of him, letting his beloved cloak drop. It fell for a moment, barely a millisecond. Then the cloth sprang to life, entangling Allister around himself, holding him from doing anything except stand and watch disdainfully.

Next came the chance-y part. Calem knew he had to make this throw now, in one motion, else he'd be too late. He tossed up his first vial into his other hand, then pelted it at the ground next to the fainting Lucy. Then number two was thrown using the same motions at the one dubbed Steve, the maker wizard.

Calem, remarkably, was two-for-two.

The first vial crashed as Lucy's head plopped limp on the ground, and as soon as the liquid became exposed to the air, it reacted with the surrounding air, forming a sphereical shield made of condensed magic energy around her. The stone press cracked on contact, unable to crush pure magic.

The second vial collided with the one dubbed Steve squarely in his chest, and due to the properties of this liquid, exploded upon contact with the surrounding air. The sudden explosion sent the maker mage sprawling, completely unsure of what just happened.

Calem smiled. He loved this feeling. The feeling of a plan utterly working.

'Enjoying the moment? Well, I'd just want to remind you, that you are in serious shit at the moment!' Calem's smile dissapeared. Only he could ruin such a nice moment for himself.

'Thanks. No 'Good work for saving the girl and yourself' or anything. Just a warning. I'm touched. Really.' He heared the scoff coming, but still winced as the voice got a bit angrier.

'Saving the girl and yourself? Does this count? She will only have breathable air for the next 5 minutes, give or take. And you are surrounded by two possibly-altereds-definitely-enhanced assholes who now have personal vendettas against you. Congrats.'

'Ok, want me to go and take these jerks down? Then I'm making an executive decision.' Calem took another stance, not liking where he needed to go with this unwanted encounter, but seeing no other choice. This new stance, one he had taken many times before, rested most of his weight on his back leg, the other widened out for balance. Calem's hands pressed against themselves, arms streched completely outward, angled slightly downward. He shut his eyes, and began to breathe.

'No mag-' his personified conscience warned.

'I know, but this Lucy needs help, which you said I should give, and I'm not in the best shape to be brawling with these two, whether they are altered, enhanced, or just balanced. Plus, I would rather not die today. Now be quiet and let me concentrate.'

Calem dug deep into his being, locating his inner shadow, and started to bring it out. He started to sense. The hostile presence and charging magic and soul of his two opponents as they began to close on his position, shrugging off Calem's last stunt. The people outside their cage, wonder just what was going on. The boatriders sailing past with the utmost curiousity. He felt them all. And small streams of shadow began to drip there way down Calem as his senses heightened, starting at his chest and covering his body, pouring out around his feet.

He was shaking, of course, and there were flashbacks, too. The price of looking deep within his darkened soul. But Calem had practice. He knew how to channel this energy.

Calem opened his eyes, shook himself out of a flashback, and grined. He was breathing slightly heavier, arms now raised, ready to defend himself and the girl to the best of his ability.

"Alright, assholes." He called, exhanging glances between the two, egging on their onslaught. "Who's first?"

* * *

 **Duh, duh, dunnnn! Wow, that was a lot of one-liners. And an extremely rushed ending. At least, thats what it seemed like to me. But, anyway, Calem is pretty awesome, just wait, and I'm not just saying that because he's my O.C., no I genuinely think he could, pending on how I write this, be a really cool character. I certainly I hope so. Next chapter is titled Meetings, as Calem will be put in his worst situation yet, a social one! O.K., now moving on - there was single review (please tell me what I'm doing wrong in your eyes). So without further ado:**

 **From Booklover1943:**

 **Well it's only the first three chapters but I'm already hooked. The plot has been very intriguing and I can't wait to see what happens next. I Like how the story has so far been told. Each chapter is making me asks questions about what is going to happen next and I love that. Keep up the good work, looking forward to reading future chapters.  
**

 **Wow, that was extremely nice. Thanks. I try to make whatever plot I create a bit mysterious and force readers/watchers to question everything, (but this is the first time others are actually READING something I made). But just tell me if something wasn't explained quite so clearly so I can either clarify in something like this or reiterate the point in the following chapter. I'm glad you enjoy it, though, as that is all I really wanted out of this.**


	5. Chapter 4: Meetings

**I suck at deadlines. To be honest, I probably suck at writing too, but hey, this is a passion project. It's just as much for me, than anyone who actually finds themselves enjoying this. Anyway, this chapter took me a long time, and I apologize for writer's block victims everywhere, but here it is. Enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer:** ** **I do NOT own any of the characters, nor the title, Fairy Tail. My only property in this story is Calem.****

* * *

 _Natsu_

* * *

"Something's wrong." Natsu voiced his thoughts, getting that feeling. That 'something is wrong' feeling. And usually when he got this feeling, Lucy was involved with it. And they were going to grab Lucy. Who was alone.

"Gee," Gray responded to his note as cold as the air constantly was around him, which wasn't appreciated, "what clued you off on that? The fact that a mysterious note claiming mass destruction suddenly appeared, or the giant, stone box over there?

Natsu scowled. He was just making conversation but the damn ice mage always had to have the final word. So Natsu did what he does best: start a fight.

"You wanna go, Ice Princess?"

"Anytime, Flame Breath."

The two clashed forehead-to-forehead, eyes locked and filled with extreme distaste, and Natsu only got angrier the longer the staring contest continued. So much so the air around the rivals began to heat at an astonishing rate, only cooled by Gray's rising temper. It was about to get ugly, and neither of them couldn't help but grin at the prospect of a brawl.

But life is never simple. Especially for them.

"Hey, Natsu?" Happy, Natsu noticed, looked pale and had a distressed look about him.

"What's the matter, Hap?" While he managed to keep his carefree tone, Natsu could still feel the same bad feeling gnawing at him, and no amount of sparring could shake it.

"Well, the weird stone box...it's placed around Lucy's apartment. So, ummm..." Happy trailed off, but the other two got the message, and all three symultaneosly turned toward it. Now it wasn't just a strange stone box, but a potentially dangerous stone box that was holding a friend.

In short, it was a threat. And Natsu could think of nothing he'd rather do than remove it. And when he looked over to Gray and Happy, the same mixed stare of anger and worry was also on apparent on their faces.

"Then what are we waiting for." Natsu smacked one fist against the oppisite palm, flashing his usual grin that showed his fangs, turning his attention away from the ice mage and soley on the impeading wall.

He noticed the eyeroll that Gray gave him, but Natsu decided it would be best to ignore him just this one time. There were things that needed to be destroyed. On purpose. Opportunities like this don't come everyday.

"Do you think at all? Even a little?" Natsu pouted as Gray insulted him out of his destructive daydreams. "This could be a trap."

"Yep, so let's not keep 'em waiting! Come on Happy!"

"Aye, sir!" And with that Natsu lept up high into the air, letting the winged blue exceed catch and propell him forward at a breakneck pace while leaving his suddenly shirtless compadre in the dust.

'Who says saving a friend from possible murderers can't be fun?' Natsu's smile waverred at the realization. Lucy was in danger. Serious danger, if that flier was to be trusted.

'Is it even possible? One guy killing an entire city?' He wanted a straight answer, but he couldn't believe one guy, with no help whatsoever, could cause that much devestation.

His imagination worked overtime as Happy tossed him forward at the wall. He envisioned massive beasts and magical cannons that dwarfed the Jupiter. Not exactly a nerve calmer.

Natsu shook himself out of his thoughts. Now wasn't the time for theories. Lucy could be in serious trouble. At the very least the box needed to go.

'Speaking off which...' Natsu finally registered the large stone wall his face would soon collide with if he didn't do something, and fast.

So Natsu caught his body on fire and lowered his head. Naturally.

"Fire Dragon: Sword Horn!" At the speed Natsu the Flaming Bullet was going, the stone wall easily fractured dramatically upon impact, with Natsu extinguishing his surrounding fire and skidding to a halt on the street.

Natsu took a moment to admire his handywork, which was a large, jagged hole in the wall seven feet off the ground, before turning on the company he found himself in.

There were three: a square-headed one in gray with his fingers interlocked, a biker looking fellow, and a thinner one wrapped in darkness. The three enclosed a small, bright sphere as well as sporting the same look on their faces: one of confusion and surprise.

Natsu stood at the ready, igniting his fists, not sure of his three fellow occupants' identities, but positive they weren't there to make casual conversation.

As Natsu prepared a one-liner, he remembered the sphere, so the dragon-slayer took the time to glance at the shiny object. Upon doing so, the blood drained from his face.

Luxy was in there. Beaten, contained, and held captive, unconcious and unable to do anything more. Natsu felt the world around him begin to fade in obscurity and anonymity. All forms of thought were gone, only one thing mattered now: saving Lucy

Natsu twitched. The three noticed.

"What the hell do you want? We're a bit busy here." The biker spoke with arrogance and gusto, but those feelings wouldn't last. Natsu shot him a glare that sent obvious shivers down his spine, eyes glowering in rage, almost inhuman.

"Fire Dragon:," Natsu turned and reared back, gathering all his internal flame in his belly, and getting a subconcious eyebrow-raise from the biker, now his target, "ROAR!" A column of fire spewed from his mouth, engulfing, and scorching, his foe, who released a blood-curdling scream under the immense heat.

"Stone Make: Drill!" A gravelly voice from behind voiced his attack, and Natsu paniced for a moment. There wasn't enough time to jump, he would have to take the newly formed, albeit blocky-shaped, drill head on.

Natsu braced himself, crossing his arms in front of his face, therefore failing to see another body drop in front of him.

"Ice Make: Shield!" Natsu looked up, hiding his relief that Gray had dropped in with his trademark defense: solid snowflake-esque ice formation.

"Hey, who said I needed your help?!" Nastu couldn't help but smile at the scowl he received. Until he remembered why he started fighting to begin with. Then it was all business.

Gray understood the situation, nodding, no words needed.

Natsu strafed right, out of the ice-shield's coverage, listening to Gray's own movements, ready for his chance.

"Ice Make: Lance!"

'Bingo,' Natsu unveiled a devilish grin as Gray assaulted their foe with a wave of six sharpened ice spears, watching the stone maker mage jump backwards out of the way before he lept forward into the air, on the attack.

"Fire Dragon: Iron Fist!" Natsu landed on his toes, in prime position in front of the wizard. From that position, Natsu unleashed all the spring he had from his landing, driving his flaming fist home into the gut of their assailant with force any dragon would be proud of, forcing him back to and through the stone wall behind him.

The dust slowly cleared, and Natsu looked back at his two companions, still maintaining the glint of grim determination in his eyes. Gray shrugged as he peered back down to the wizard he was promptly standing on.

"This guy's out."

"A bit overkill, but who cares." Natsu grunted, uncaring. They hurt Lucy, a friend. They deserved all that they got.

"There's still one more."

"Yeah. Surprised he hasn't attacked us yet."

"He was probably in awe of me and my fire."

"Or maybe your ego is restraining him."

Natsu chose to ignore the last comment for Lucy's sake, making two he owed him.

The two stepped through the fresh hole in the wall, sizing up the third intruder instantly.

'He doesn't look the least bit worried." Natsu's caution finally broke through, recalling his unease from before. 'Why? Didn't he see what just happened?' However, rash anger splintered Natsu's mind before any rational conclusion could be made. Thoughts were stripped into basic emotions, one sticking out in particular.

'This guy will know what hurting a Fairy Tail wizard means, now. I'll make sure he never messes with us again.'

* * *

 _Calem_

* * *

Calem held his ground, firmly standing on the stone street as the two intruding wizards easily despatched the other assailants, mind racing, letting the shadows he had created fade back into his body.

"These two stood no chance," Calem concluded, prodding the unconscious Allister with a gentle toe, "just who are these freaks?"

Calem then learned that those 'freaks' were looking at him, as if they could envision themselves breaking all of his bones. Instantly, Calem wished his cloak was on his back instead of 10 feet away.

'Did they hear...'

'Probably.'

'This is gonna get worse, won't it?'

He watched as the pink haired fire wizard rushed him with unimaginable speed, hopping over the dome which held Lucy in order to lift Calem by his collar, wearing a very threatening glare.

'Yes. Yes it will. Have I mentioned your people skills need work?'

'Not helping.' Calem blocked out his more annoying inner voice and peered into the demon stare of his holder, taking long, even breaths as to keep himself calm. Thinking he was prepared, Calem listened to what pinky had to say.

"Who were you and your pals, and why do you want Lucy?"

"Straight to the point? Most people start conversations with a 'hello' or maybe a name. At least, so I've heard."

"Just fix what you did to Lucy!" Calem rolled his eyes. The fools not getting it.

"You mean save her? Sorry, I don't think undoing that is smart." There was a low growl sounding, and it took a moment for Calem to realize the noise came from the one holding his collar. A single bead of sweat ran down his face. This guy meant business, no more time for jokes.

So Calem held his hands up, 'surrendering' without a ghost of an intention to actually do so.

"Fine. The shield is sturdy, but not invincible. The longer it stays, the weaker it gets. With the amount of time its been, it should shatter from any decent hit." Calem watched the two wizards, and their flying feline friend, share looks. "Does that solution work for you?"

The second wizard, who was for some reason shirtless, smacked the side of his fist into an open palm. "Ice Make: Hammer!" A sledgehammer of ice formed and struck with a heavy blow from above, shattering the weakening cage.

Calem waved and turned in one motion, trying his best to hide his discomfort, retrieving his fallen cloak as the other three tended to their comrade.

"If that's all, then it would be best for everyone that I leave immeadiatly." Calem refitted his cloak around his neck before turning back towards the reachable hole in the wall, striding right past his company as quickly as he could manage without seeming paniced. Unfortunately, he walked straight into a set of ice bars, which rapidly grew into an entire ice cage.

"Ice Make: Prison." Calem clenched his fists, holding back all of his pempted up negativity that he held within, trying to stay calm and in control.

'They stopped me.'

'Deep breaths.'

'Why did they do that?'

'Deep breaths.'

'Do they not realize the longer I stay, the greater chance everyone is killed?!'

'Obviously not. But if you keep together, unhostile, then you might be able to leave faster, if that is really what you wish.'

Calem had several questions about that last response alone, but he would never get the chance. His newfound captor unwittingly saw to that.

"Who are you?" The shirtless ice mage kept his voice even, face straight, but there was plenty of fight in his soul. Calem saw it in his eyes, so he turned with his palms out, breathing slightly deeper himself.

"You first. I know that the girl is known as Lucy, pinky there is probably Natsu, if memory serves. But you and," he paused in his dry response, pointing now at the blue cat, but it wasn't a cat as it was blue and flying, "your hovering companion and unknowns. So if you would please, then I'll tell you everything that wouldn't hurt you."

He seemed to think about the deal, what information he could possibly get.

"Deal. The name's Gray," he then jerked a thumb behind him, "and that's Happy, who is technically called an exceed, but is effectively a talking, winged cat." Calem nodded, getting over the shock of a talking cat, assuming the rest of the details in his head, which he regarded with approximately 40% accuracy due to the lengthly list of unknowns he found within his situation.

"Alright, shoot." Gray didn't waste any time.

"Who are you?"

"That's potentially dangerous, if he keeps sending guys for me."

"Who is 'he'?"

"Definitely dangerous, so no."

"What was that darkness that covered you?"

"That's personal. I'm not telling you that." Natsu lept from his position beside Lucy at the last comment, sending a flaming fist into the street before reaching the other hand between the ice bars, grabbing Calem by his collar once again.

"What can you tell us then?"

"I can tell you any information that wouldn't hurt you. That was the deal, so all i can really say is this: I need to leave this place as soon as possible. The longer I stay, the larger the chance something bad will happen." Calem shook his head after the psuedo-warning, ponderring what it was that kept him from just leaving.

"Does it have anything to do with that apocolypse warning we got this earlier this morning?" The cat, Happy, spoke up for the first time of the interrogation, and Calem eyed the blue-furred feline, who fluttered behind Natsu, with a mix of intrigue and stress. He shrugged off the loose grip on his collar and cocked an eyebrow.

"Apocolypse warning? Who sent it? From where? All the details, please."

"Why should we tell you all that when we don't even get a name?" It was Gray this time, but Calem noticed the others silently agree. Except for Lucy. She was just silent.

"You should share, because," Calem tried to be patient, he really did, "if this place is in danger, then there is knowledge to be gained."

He took in the glares of distrust the three held on him unmoving, unrelenting. There was a possible lead. A chance.

'A chance for revenge.'

'Aren't you forgetting something.' The voice lost its carefree tone in exchange for a harsher, more disciplinary one.

'What?'

'PEOPLE! The people in this town could be seriously hurt. Or worse. Would you seriously just leave them to fall in your pursuit of knowledge and vengence? Didn't you learn anything at all?' It took all of Calem's multitasking ability to hold his stare and argue with himself.

'Their safety would be a bi-product of my task. Everyone would win.'

'The answer is no: you didn't. You hold the power, the control, but you lack the complete focus. We WILL talk about this.'

'Damn, you...I...sound like Dad." Calem felt his mind fade, his gaze with the others break. The idea of his father forcing his mind into the emotionally fractured pieces they were. He knew what he was doing, it was what needed to be done.

 _Right?_

Calem wouldn't give himself, nor be given, much time to think about his emotional and mental state. That was for later. Now, he had a lead. A chance to avenge his family and berid of a threat. Certainly this was what they would want him to do.

 _Right?_

'Stoppit, brain. We have to focus, there are questions to answer.' Calem looked back up to face the gaze of his interrogaters, but immeadiatly noticed the slouched, robed elder clamber through the hole in the wall. A stroke of luck.

"Why," the aged man stated, seemingly having no trouble of speaking or walking, despite his look and cane, "do you three have the soul mage locked up?"

Calem felt his eyebrows shoot up. This man knew stuff. What he knew, and how much, had yet to be seen. But he was jeopardizing Calem's anonymity, so the time for patience was over. Calem lifted his hands above his head, palms out, and he felt the inky blackness come surging through his arms, even if it wasn't visible

'Shadow Magic:...'

'This isn't a good idea. They will get suspicious if you strike.'

'I've already blown my cover, and they are only seeing, not understanding. Besides, I'm out of time in this place.' With that, his focus resumed, and a magic circle as dark as his cloak grew from his outstretched palms.

"Pillar!" From the circle materialized a solid black pillar, growing at an exponential rate. It smashed through the ceiling of the ice cage after a moment of contact, and Calem willed the column of shade to curve and slam into the street, taking everyone aback as he lept out of his chilled prison.

Calem knew what would happen next as he landed between the elder and the guild wizards. The mages would strike as soon as they saw him, the miniscule amount of trust they shared gone now, while the old man stayed away. But it didn't bother him. It was better this way.

He was right. Gray and Natsu came at him full force, leaping high into the air to give themselves time for harder strikes.

"Fire Dragon...!"

"Ice Make:...!"

Calem's mind began to clear, getting into the groove, losing all of the sadness, anger, and worries he held onto. As Calem closed his eyes, the darkness from the pillar dematerialized and rushed to his side and floated around him, as that was his will.

"Cannon!"

"Brilliant Flame!"

Even with his eyes closed, Calem knew the attacks were coming. His body knew what to do before his mind did, sweeping his hands in front of his a touch more flamboyant than needed.

"Shadow Magic: Barrier." The freeflowing darkness solidified once more into an irregularly shaped wall, which held against both powerful strikes, despite more than a few large cracks and dents. But Calem wasn't done, instantly despelling the freeform wall and summoning his control of the shade once more.

"Shadow Magic: Chains." As two circles appeared above his open palms, chains grew out from the dark mist surrounding them, lengthening with every second to where they eventually curled around Natsu and Gray like snakes, tieing the two together.

"What's the big idea, attacking us like that?! I have half the mind to freeze you where you stand!" Calem peered through his peripherals at the pickle he had just put his almost comrades in. It was almost cartoonish, them struggling against their newfound wieghts.

'Don't think about the almost. I'm me. It wouldn't have turned out well.'

'But you might've been happy for the first time since, like, ever.' Came had to take a breath, blinking slowly to refresh his resolve and ponder why this voice always seemed to be both optimistic and doubting, and how that was possible in the first place.

'Happiness isn't my path. It can't be. Not as long as he is still out there.'

With that, Calem focused, or tried to. It was hard with two bezerking wizards struggling behind him.

"Now," he crouched next to the elder, who had fallen during the ordeal, "how much do you think you know?"

The man seemed to tremble slightly, pupils dialating the longer the eye contact was held. Calem watched chest's rise and fall speed up slightly, waiting patiently for an answer. He expected a fold and confession of knowledge, an assumption based on appearance alone.

Instead, he just coughed, regaining a strict composure and straightening his robes before remeeting Calem's stare with one just as cool, obviously not intimidated once calmed, and a tap on the shoulder.

"Watch your back." Calem was knocked straight out of his intimidating facade, forced into overanalyzation of the comment.

'Was that a threat? A warning? Is he trying to psych me out?' Calem paused in his crouching stance, staring off into space while his mind worked double time. It wasn't until his second personality pointed out the obvious meaning that action was taken.

'Maybe, I dunno, he meant it literally. That's possible, right?'

'No way. I didn't hear anything.'

'Exactly! Now turn around, dipshit, or we won't survive long enough to get off this topic!'

Calem, ever the skeptic, turned around with arrogant eyes, only for his gaze to be met by Natsu and Gray, the wizard he had chained together. So he rose slowly, recollecting his thoughts for the umpteenth time that day, and it was barely noon.

"Soooooo..." Calem said with an edge of caution and a shrug, "truce?" A long shot, and he knew it, but a shot worth taking nevertheless. The surrounding area instantly overheated at an insane pace for his attempt.

"You wish, bastard." The world then cooled just as quick.

"I hope you enjoy popsicles." Calem cringed, despite the imminent danger, and slowly started backing away.

'Can't I ever do something right? Just once, I would prefer if there weren't any repercussions. Is that too much for me to ask?'

'I tried to stop you, but nooooo, you just had to get answers right then and there. Always rushing into things. No focus. No clarity. No patience. It'll get us killed.'

'What does that mean? What are you talking about?' There was no response to his queries, though. Just silence amongst the sporadic climate and the overwhelming magical pressure pulsing in the air. Whoever these two, this Natsu and Gray, were, they were talented and experienced. Definitely not pushovers.

So Calem prepared himself for a fight. What else could he do?

As it happened, he didn't need, nor could he, to do anything. As all three wizards steeled themselves for the fight, Calem heard the distinct sound of wood knocking on stone, though he couldn't place where it was coming from. The noise seemed to be all around them, encircling them, growing louder and echoing chaotically, but never stopping for more than a second.

'What the hell is going on?' He wouldn't ever get a chance to answer his question, as Calem felt his brain start to ache. The longer the noise went, the more he felt like ripping his ears off, and he could see it had the same effect on Natsu, Gray, and even Happy, all four pressing their hands against their ears and writhing in pain.

Not Lucy. She was still out of it. Poor girl.

Calem had reached his limit, contemplating the most effective way to remove an ear, when the chaotic noise finally died down.

"Now, will you all calm down? There are many more important things to do than a simple grudge match." The old man stood above his victims like an emperor does his people, but Natsu was not impressed.

"Was that you who made that awful noise just then? Damn, gramps, what a way to get attention. I mean, who the-" Natsu's voice lost all ability to form words when the same walking stick responsible for his recent ear-rape was driven into his stomach.

"Respect your elders, boy! If you're the Fairy Tail wizards I hired, then I am severely underwhelmed." His face was livid, more with annoyance than actual rage, but his words caught them off-guard to say the least.

"YOU were the one who put that apocalypse warning?! Wh-" Gray stood to confirm what he had heard, but was quickly brought back to his knees by another cross-check with the wooden cane.

"Of course I was the one who put the warning! Why else would I come here to meet who I'm spending my money on!"

"Hey, old timer," Happy, hovering tentatively, spoke up to the elder he was starting to fear, "what is with the warning? And why did you hire the entire guild to protect Magnolia on a hunch?" Calem watched the man raise his cane to the direction of the voice, but stop when he saw where it came from, then put his cane back down and chuckle, as if he knew something they didn't. Something hilarious.

'I've don't really like this guy. Something fishy about him.' Calem kept his concerns to himself. Acting rash would get him in serious trouble. Or rather, more than he was already in.

"I like you, cat. You ask the important questions, and keep things simple." Happy grinned at the complement and Natsu and Gray's gapping expressions. "The name's Romulus, and it would help me greatly if you would keep an eye on those slackers you came with. My old eyes can't see everything nowadays." At the request, Happy eagerly saluted to Romulus.

"Aye, sir!"

Romulus peered around at the disastrous battleground, taking it all in before turning back whence he came.

"All right, I guess you are the messenger squad, then? Gather yourselves and the girl and follow me. And shut your mouths before birds nest in them." Calem stood to walk away as Natsu and Gray did what they were told, but was abruptly stopped by Romulus's now commanding voice. "You too, soul mage," he said, "I'll answer your questions after a little brunch. I'm famished."

* * *

 **You know what is especially hard about the way I'm writing this? I'm trying to organize and word it like it's an arc from the actual anime/manga/canon. So that means I can't put my own twist on fan-favorite characters, nor change any events in the official storyline. I've gotta be by the book with the roster of characters, except my own and all the new extras and such. That's kinda hard. But enough of my bitching. The next chapter is called Visions, and as a teaser: pay attention to the descriptions. You never know what could be important in works of literature.**


	6. Chapter 5: Visions

**I am the worst writer on this planet. I admit it, it's a fact. Jesus christ, what was it, 3 months? Give or take a week? For anyone that cared, I'm sorry, but I was kinda stuck in a rut for awhile because of...personal reasons, plus I also just moved into a new town/school and school started in general. So, to summarize, a lot of shit happened. But now this chapter is here, in before 3 more months (hopefully not). I hope you guys, nameless internet people, enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer:** ** **I do NOT own any of the characters, nor the title, Fairy Tail. My only property in this story is Calem.****

* * *

 _Happy_

* * *

Confusion was the understatement of the week the way Happy saw things play out. First the stone cage in front of Lucy's apartment, then some weird guy with weird magic that kept on being unnecessarily cryptic, and finally a smack happy old guy who is actually their employer, but also kind-of creepy and definitely strong.

'What is wrong with people? Why can't anyone just be honest with each other?' Happy mulled over the recent events in his head again and again while he fluttered along following the old man, looking for something that would help him to understand literally anything about the past half-hour he just witnessed. Nothing really helped.

Happy took a look back at the cloaked wizard, now with his hood up and looking off at the canal, lost in his thoughts. He didn't seem like that bad of a guy. A bit mysterious, for sure. And beyond antisocial. And intimidating, sometimes, but other times not. Those other times he was a bit of an ass, and obviously hiding something.

In fact, this stranger reminded Happy of Gray, albeit he wasn't as straightforward, and had more control over his emotions. He wasn't sure how he felt about this observation.

'Maybe this guy is just a traveller. We could help him out if that's the case.' As soon as he thought it, Happy knew that he was deluding himself. There was an off-putting vibe he gave, and his reaction to Romulus's 'soul mage' comment left plenty of questions. Too many for even him to ignore.

Happy realized his was staring, so he quickly looked back forward to the rest of the pack before he got noticed. They were all just as quiet, deep in their own takes on the strangers. Especially Lucy, who woke up just a few minutes ago. She look the most conflicted of them all, if not all that confused.

Happy's gaze fell lastly on the leader of their company, the old man, who was in good spirits, waving to passerbys and everything.

'I spend time with the wierdest bunch. I should hang out with Carla and Wendy more. At least they don't go looking for people like this.' Happy hovered in between Natsu and Lucy, which eased his anxiety but didn't quell it.

"So," he started, barely whisperring, getting their attention, "what do you lovebirds think of all this?" Happy couldn't resist the jab, but he was legitimitely curious of their takes on the matter. Plus, he noticed Gray chuckle. That was worth something.

Natsu, ignoring the comment, answered his question.

"What is there to think about?" He said, not as quiet however still lowly toned. "We've got our job, and this Romulus guy hired us. As for the other guy, well, next time he hits, I'm gonna hit back. There's nothing to worry about."

Happy knew Natsu well. He knew that Natsu preferred to move past his problems in the simplest manner. Happy also knew that he was lying, and was just as curious, if not more, about what to do with their newfound +1. But Happy kept quiet about his train of thought. He found some things were best not said aloud.

"How 'bout you, Gray?" Gray collected his thoughts for the moment, then laid out his plan of action.

"I'm just gonna follow the directions old guy, complete our mission, and keep an eye on our tagalong back there. I've got my suspicions about the punk." It was left at that, simple, clear, and extremely potent, if he was implying what Happy believed he was.

"How about you, Lucy?"

"Yeah Luce," Natsu added, "you were in the middle of that mess. What's your take?" There was a hit of edge in Natsu's tone as Lucy's gaze faded, looking not what was ahead, but at the memories she held. Happy could see something didn't add up in her head.

"I don't really know what to make of this."

"Lucy, don't trust anything this guy says or does." Gray said, sensing her turmoil, as they all did, and spoke up ever so slightly, still sure to keep his voice low. "He has motives we don't know. So until then, this guy should get no sympathy."

"Amen to that." Natsu and Gray pumped fists, thinking they had the situation handled, if not figured out, and therefore eased all their minds. Everyone was labeled appropriately: who to protect, who to listen to, and who to hurt.

But Happy failed to stay as convinced of those labels, and by how the three of them stayed tense, he knew they all had the same gnawing feeling in the back of their minds.

Something big was afoot, and while Fairy Tail would be caught in the storm, this stranger was at its center.

"So much for an easy mission today."

* * *

 _Lucy_

* * *

'Natsu and Gray are right,' Lucy repeated this phrase over and over in her mind, 'Calem is actually not a good person. He just has an adversion to quick deaths. Or something.'

Lucy remained unconvinced. The facts of the matter were Calem saved her. She could have died. Just like that. But his quick actions prevented that fate.  
And yet he also attacked her friends and an old man. What compelled him to do that? Rage? Frustration? Pleasure?

Desperation?

Lucy began to try and put the pieces the best she could. 'Calem must've lashed out at everyone to escape, if what he said is true.'  
Which brought Lucy to one more bullet in her list of ponderings: Calem had warned her, all of them, that he was essentially a bad omen, and someone, or someones, were following him.

It clicked. According to Natsu, Fairy Tail had gotten a mass hiring by one flier, which was a warning about oncoming genocide. Calem was hiding and running from something dangerous, so dangerous that knowing about it made you a target, and knowing him made you an accomplice. So the end of the Magnolia must be this...*itl* thing *end itl*...that relentlessly follows Calem.

Spooky.

But there were loose ends there too, and Lucy racked her brain to answer them. How did the old man, Romulus, fit into all this? How did he know about the suppossed coming genocide, and about Calem? And what was then the whole point of those hitmen?

'Uhhhh, I don't have enough brain power to solve this condundrum alone.' She looked back at Calem, wishing once more Levy was there to help solve the puzzle that this situation was. In the midst of it, sshe couldn't help but sympathize. The poor guy. He had wandered into town apparently alone just to be sucked into this mess, and antagonized because he held some secrets. She could relate.

Lucy shook herself out of it. This was no time to be soft. In all of her books, the best villians were the ones she had sympathy for. Calem could be just like that. It wasn't smart to be letting her guard down.  
"And here we are folks!" Lucy, along with everyone else, snapped back into reality at the sudden announcement of their arrival at what appeared to be an old, slightly larger toolshed.

"Here? Are you sure, guy? This place seems..." Natsu, always free with his opinion as Lucy had come to learn, caught a very threatening glare from Romulus, causing to straighten out like he was a soldier waiting for permission.

'If looks could kill, that one would wipe out acres.' Lucy almost chuckled at her joke, but remembered how possible genocide was unless they played their cards wrong, baring if Romulus was telling the truth. That thought blew away all traces of a smile from her face.

Gray and Happy had no such stipulations, their guts bursting at the prospect of Natsu, seasoned dragonslayer and combatant, being intimidated, almost bullied, by man looking thrice his age with a wooden cane.  
'Somehow, Lucy thought, 'Romulus truely makes his appearance daunting.'

"Got something to say about my home? Better out than in." Natsu, choosing physical over mental health, kept his mouth shut, much to the elder's delight.

"Good." He turned on a heel with grace that should've left him years prior and opened the door into his wooden home.

"Now inside gentlemen, lady, and cat. Its better we speak in private." Lucy shrugged and continued her lazy walk towards the door behind the rest of her Fairy Tail bretheren, only to be halted abruptly by Calem, who wore a very menacing glare.

Lucy only pretended not to be frightened, keeping on her brave face and staring the wizard who was the source of all her questions. So Lucy she figured she'd ask them.

"Alright, Calem," Lucy unwittingly taunting him with her knowledge of his name as well as immeadiately turning the tables on him, "I've got more than a few bones to pick with you." Calem frowned and closed the door leading into the shack.

"No questions. I am only stopping you for one reason: Do NOT, under any circumstance, reveal to them my name. This whole situation is getting worse by the second."

Lucy lost her mask at the comment. Orderring her to keep information from her most trusted comrades? And this belief that he was the cause of this mess? The nerve of some people.

"You narcissist!" Lucy smacked the fool without remorse, deciding it was now or never to lay down the law. "Here is the situation, whether you see it or not. This place, my home, my entire way of life, could be in danger, and I don't plan on taking any chances. You think you can just tell us to ignore all this, cause I for sure can't!"

The longer she went, the more extravagant her arm and head movements became. Calem was helpless against it.

"So, *italics*Calem*end italics*, the way I see it, if you are the type of guy that isn't a total ass and saves others like you saved me, you'll help us. Keep your secrets for all I care! As long as that information doesn't *italics*remotely*end italics* effect this situation. If I find out you are withholding something crucial, so help me, damn it." Lucy took a few breaths and stuck an erect finger under his chin as Calem raised his palms and stretched his neck away, surrenderring against the lividness of the lecture he was being given.

"Ok. Fine. I swear I'll work with you and your guild to solve this problem of yours." Immeadiatly after it was said, Calem looked like he regretted it, but Lucy didn't care. She got the answer she wanted out of him. And a promise was a promise.

"Good. Then since you're working with us for however long, the others deserve to know your name, if nothing else." Lucy savorred his reaction of utter shock before flinging open the door and strutting inside, leaving Calem in her dust, realizing that she completely tore his attempt at intimidation apart.

'He shouldn't have been so...whatever he was. This is where it gets him.'

"Wait..." she heard him stammer out, but there wasn't any hope for his anonymity. Lucy was determined to see to that.'

The shack, while not appealling on the outside, Lucy found pretty nice in its interior. Cozy was the first word that came to her mind. A simple living room, with a small table, a few chairs, a rug on the floor, and a door in the corner was all that the room held, but all it needed.

Lucy shook her observations away. There would be time for decor admiration later. Right now, she should address her reasons for slamming open doors to her now curious cast of onlookers. She took another breath.

"Guys, I want you to meet Calem. He is gonna be helping us with this whole genocide thing." Romulus seemed to understand, and continued about his business of collecting scattered papers, but Natsu, Gray, and Happy all kept wearing their puzzled expressions.

Lucy sighed, slightly hunching over out of habit, and half-heartedly gestured to the slowly enterring figure that Calem was, instantly transforming all of the confusion into a mix of realization and surprise.

"You got him to tell you his name?! When?! How?!" Gray stood, after a stagger, from his seated position on the floor. If he had a drink Lucy would've swore he'd have spit it out.

"He decided to tell me in dire circumstances, I guess."

"Worst. Decision. Ever." Lucy shot Calem the stink eye for his undertone comment, who shuffled slightly from his leaning position against the wall.

"Wanna say that again, guy?" Natsu, never to be the gentle one, a quirk that never ceased to annoy Lucy, got right up in Calem's face, which appeared to bother him greatly, his forehead growing creases. But despite that he didn't flinch at the verbal assault.

"Careful. You don't know what your dealing with."

"That right? How 'bout we test that theory of yours, hm?"

Lucy sighed at the growing ordeal, thinking a basic question as the tension grew. 'Those two won't mesh well, will they?'

Her answer came in the form of Natsu's fist igniting spontaneously, while Calem held a glare that she felt posed just as big a threat, though it was unclear why. She could assume that the situation was synonymous to a straightforward no.

Lucy shot a look at Romulus, who didn't seem at all concerned about what was happenning, instead tending to a ball of crystilline lacrima levetating above the wooden table. Where it had come from was a thought string she didn't care about.

Gray seemed to care even less about the possible destruction. At least he showed no sign of wanting to stop the possible outburst.

Which, in her role call of able bodies, Happy not included, left her.

'Lucky me.' Nevertheless, Lucy took action, stepping gently into Natsu's peripherals, with a firm grasp on his shoulder and deep sigh for effect. Natsu fiercely whipped his head in her direction, while Calem merely flicked his eyes over the same way.

"Natsu," Lucy quickly recognized the anger in his eyes, and wondered how he could get so worked up over something so little, "let it go. Work with him for a week or 2, let this fiasco clear up, then we all move our seperate ways." Lucy, while she would never fail to let anyone know this, prided herself in being able to reach Natsu no matter what mood he was in. But after a quick glance at his would-be adversary, Lucy was having trouble thinking she could keep him from murderring the fool before the day was up.

And the more she thought about it, the less likely it was that any of them could even have a straight conversation with Calem, let alone work with him.

"Alright, dumbasses," Romulus drew all attention over to him, striking a tone like nothing remotely hostile was happening around him, "gather round the crystal ball and shut up for once in all your lives. Except you, Calem. You just stay as quiet as you have been." Calem, like all the rest of them, prodded in front of the small wooden table inside the small wooden room which accompassed most of the small wooden shack. All the while his gaze never left the elder man, who didn't seem to notice.

It didn't take much for Lucy to figure Calem was suspicious of the guy. But _why_? That was the million dollar question. She shook it off, though. Now was the time for listening to what this old man had brought them here to say.

"hrmmph. Ok. I guess I start with the simple explination: I can see the future." Natsu fell backward from his seated position in front of the lacrima, and immeadiately Happy fell ontop of him. Gray and Lucy went from looks of curiousity to ones of disbelief. Calem only seemed to tighten his glare.

"Ok, now that the initial shock is gone, I'll explain further." Romulus waved his hand over the smooth lacrima ball, close to, but never, touching it. "I am one of the few remaining _Seers_ \- which is essentially just a person who can percieve the future. It isn't very percise, or have very good timing, and they are never complete events, always fragments." Romulus gave them a pause for that to sink in. "To counter the imperfection and fleeting moments of our visions, _Seers_ like myself use this special, but very dangerous lacrima-"

"Doesn't look so dangerous." Natsu reached a palm to grasp the crystal, but was instantaneously, and rather viciously, swatted away.

"DON'T TOUCH THE LACRIMA, FOOL!" Romulus, let out an ear splitting yell while shielding, but not touching, his precious crystal. Natsu had shot up and leaned away from the defensive elder, while everyone else just raised curious eyebrows. After the initial moment of shock, Romulus, as well as the rest, returned to their original seats.

"This crystal is special." Romulus began slowly, clearing holding in his temper as Lucy noticed and noted. "If someone were to place a hand apon it, the results could be catastrophic for the individual." His hand shot up to signal he knew the incoming questions. "If a non- _Seer_ , their mind would either break, turning them into a drooling moron, or wipe completely, sending them back to the ripe mental age of infancy. _"_ Another hand, more silence. _"Seers_ are able to handle this lacrima due to their training and development of psychic blocks and mental magic resistance, as well as good old fashioned experience. It helps contain, collect, and project what we see so that the vision is cleaner and more focused, and so others can see it."

Another exasperated pause, and Lucy couldn't contain her disbelief.

"Th-that's impossible. The future can't be...told. Read like it was out of a book." The rest, she noticed, continued to try and get over the idea of knowing exactly what was gonna happen at all times. Needless to say, as Lucy knew what they were going through, it was a bit unsettling.

"Oh, really?" Their senior appeared all too delighted to correct her and flaunt his knowledge. "What about Tarot Cards? If I remember, one Cana Alberona is the Fairy Tail Guild's resident fortune teller, no?" Lucy scoffed, the question of how he knew that front-flipping over her head.

"That's different. It's prediction, not straight fact." Lucy sputtered out lamely, immeadiately remembering that they were there to alter said 'fact'.

"The idea of the future," Romulus explained slowly so the less intellectual members of the company could keep up, "is that there is one for each and every situation. If our lives would continue as they were now, my percieved future would come true. However, by actively attempting to change it..."

"Something new is created." finished Calem, whose stare never faltered, but his brown eyes gave away his thoughts. At least, what Lucy thought his thoughts were.

"Exactly. Would you all care for a demonstration?"

"For sure, old man!" Natsu bellowed with his usual levels of enthusiasm when trouble brewed. "Just show me what I need to hit, then this whole future changing thing will be good!" Before Gray got the chance, Romulus clocked the Fire Dragon Slayer back down into his seated position with a fresh bump on his head.

"Things are never that simple. My visions are vague at best, and calling forth a _Sight_ isn't exactly as easy as when they spontaneously show themselves. Now shut p and let me focus."

Romulus placed both hands on the crystal, and many tense moments passed for everyone as they all wondered and waited for what they might see, what they didn't want to see. Eventually, the lacrima as well as Romulus's eyes began to glow with a deep green and black light: displaying what Lucy could only assume was a _Sight_ , as he had called it. The room began to fade from existance, being replaced with an unwanted future:

 _Fires burned all around the city, across primarily vacant streets. What was once buildings was now piles of rubble and debris. There was few bodies, but the ones that remained were torn, bloodied, and broken. It was utter chaos, and Lucy wanted none of it to be true._

 _The picture altered, zooming to the top of the valley that Magnolia was holed in. The once green, lucious grass was now dead, dry, and brown, the valley had not taken its beating lightly._

 _Nor did Fairy Tail, as several members laid strewn about ontop of the dying lip of the valley. Lucy cringed at the sight, but never once looked away. The unconcious bodies of her friends was terrifying, but her curiousity and will to see the entirety of the vision overpowered the terror of seeing her guildmates in this state._

 _The picture kept flashing forward and forward, sometimes inches, others a few feet, always focusing on a body of Fairy Tail for barely a moment before flashing to the next._

 _Gajeel was broken in several places, his iron skin failing to hold together his many bleeding scrapes and slashes, nor the fracture he had in his left leg and arm. Levy was nowhere to be seen._

 _Wendy, the youngest of them all, was missing her right hand. It had not come off clean, and the sight of her kneeling there with Carla, unable to move from the pain of her hand, and in general her entire body, brought tears to Lucy's eyes._

 _Gray was propped up against a stump of a tree, his body letting off a light steam from a bleeding wound lashed across his bare chest that Lucy knew for sure would scar. Juvia sat next to him, whimpering for her one sided love to return from his unconciusness, not without her own injuries._

 _Erza struggled to stand, but looked like she was in the worst shape of all, having a multitude of obvious fractures in her legs and arms. She wore no armor, just the simple firery pants and wrappings, and held only a single broadsword, using it as a means to stand rather than to fight. But still she stood, hunched with her right arm limp, her spirit defiant as always._

 _Despite the upbringing the sight of Erza was, Lucy couldn't help but gasp at the sight of herself. She was also barely concious, and broken, and was beside her, unable to fly but just hold his meager standing position next to her. The worst part wasn't her own injuries, though - it was the state of her keys. All of them, from Plue's silver key to each and every Zodiac keys were all broken or cracked. Some snapped in two, other were outright shattered in 4+ ways. Lucy, like the self she saw in this Sight, collapsed and began to cry._

 _But she didn't look away from the next shot. It was Natsu, also extremely beaten, but standing with dragonfire surrounding his entire body and a look in his eyes that showed he meant to kill. The darkness crawled around him, some of it seeming almost physical in form. And Natsu stood unyielding in its center, a light in the shadow of a blacked out figure. Lucy failed to make out his face, only that he was thinner, somewhat tall, and wore a long hooded cloak._

 _Natsu launched himself straight at the mysterious enemy, but was batted away, seemingly without much effort exerted, as he flew aside into a nearby tree. Lucy heard a haunting laugh, before a beam of concentrated magic blazed white and black down into the center of Magnolia, and the following explosion tore through the entire area, consuming them all._

The magic of the vision broke, and all of them were left in a state of shock with a mix of tears, agony, and frustration. Lucy checked her keys only to find them all safe and whole. Gray patted his chest, not feeling the long, smoking lash that he saw just moments ago. Natsu's hands were in fists and on fire, light tears in his eyes, and Happy hugged his leg, bawling.

Calem just stood, leaning back but with obvious discomfort and as much shock as the rest of them. His discomfort seemed to get worse when both Gray and Natsu snapped his direction to give accusing stares that lasted several seconds.

The silence broke from Romulus's coughing fit, and the rest of light in his eyes faded from the room. Before the room fell back into it's tense quiet, Natsu acted, launching himself forward and grabbing Calem by the collar of his shirt.

"What's the big idea, pal? Have you been planning this for a while, or is it a recent idea?" Natsu leaned close, fire escaping from his nostrils, but Calem kept a cool that was obviously not as together as he let on. Nevertheless, his hand lashed from its position on his side to break the hold Natsu had on him, only for him and Gray to grab hold of both his wrists and pin him against the wall.

"I'm not here to hurt anyone!" Calem yelled at them all, which was the largest he had raised his voice all day, and it went unconvinced by the two emtionally unstable mages that had pinned him. "If I'm honest, I'm begginning to regret coming here at all!" That too fell upon deaf ears, and Lucy saw the fight coming. Romulus smothered the idea though, with a few wacks of his stick.

'How'd he get over there so fast?' Lucy thought, but the answer didn't come nor did she care about it. An all out brawl was nagated, and that was fine in her books, no matter how it got done.

"Fools, the both of you!" Romulus said over the now kneeling Natsu and Gray. "We don't know who or what that figure could or couldn't be! For all we know, any man or woman, excluding present company, save Calem and I, could be our downfall."

"Exactly, old man. It could be, and IS, this asshole," Gray jestured to Calem, who scoffed in disbelief, "because we didn't see him all beat up AND that man who shot the damn beam-thing wore a cloak like his!" Romulus narrowed his eyebrows.

"By that logic," Romulus retorted, "I could be the murderer of Magnolia. A black cloak isn't exactly something exclusive."

"Well, we do know one thing," Lucy chimed in, sure of this as she was sure the sky was blue, "it isn't a member of Fairy Tail, cause none of them would do something like this." Romulus looked like he wanted to retort that, too, but changed his mind before speaking, seemingly agreeing to the statement. "So what do you want us to do against an enemy we don't know, nor when he will hit?" Lucy finished by crossing her arms and slightly tilting her a beat, the elder, self-dubbed _Seer_ answered.

"Watch. Listen. And be ready at all times. Act with total caution and awareness but don't LOOK like you're cautious or aware, just in case he is already in the city and biding his time. Pass the word onto your guild, but go on with business as usual. Just with a bit more of a watchful eye." Romulus's orders were clear, direct, and logical, and Lucy didn't disagree with his plan.

"What about this clown?" Natsu growled at Calem, who looked lost within his mind, not noticing the jab.

"He promised to help, didn't he? He stays until unneeded, then he can go, or do whatever he chooses. Watch him 24/7 for all I care, but keep him around. I've a feeling he will be quite useful." Natsu nodded and grunted, obviously disliking the answer.

"No more questions? Good, now get out and spread the word to your guild. I'll inform you if I have another _Sight._ GO!" So they did, with an unfortunate 5th member of the group trailing behind them.

* * *

 **Again, sorry. I hope this chapter makes up for it, but it probably doesn't, and I should get the next one out ASAP. So, I'll try, but I don't really know how to phrase the next chapter. It's meant to develop Calem's abilities a bit further, but I'm just...stuck. The next chapter, at this moment, is titled _Sharing_ , but that is subject to change at any moment. R&R, and I'll try to update soon.**


	7. Chapter 6: Spacing

**I guess it takes me months to come out with a chapter. I don't know, I just want it to be good, and paced right, and the characters to be fleshed out enough. I don't really know if it reaches that mark, it probably doesn't even come close to mediocre, but this is really fun to write. I should do more...after I finish this one. Whenever that'll be. But OK, it's time for Chapter 6: Spacing (I changed it from Sharing 'cause I left the whole 'sharing' bit to next chapter). Take it away, Natsu!**

* * *

 _Natsu_

* * *

Natsu couldn't place it. It was going on 3 weeks now, and nothing had happened. No word from Romulus, no unusual attacks, or missions, or anythings at all. Just 3 weeks of normal, uneventful, basic stuff. Day after day.

He HATED it.

Where was all the excitement, the battles over right and wrong, the near-death experiences, the last-second comebacks? Gone, apparently, without a trace. There was only so many days Natsu could go without being challenged by someone other than Gray, which happened on a daily basis.

And Natsu's boredom wasn't helped by the fact that HE showed up everyday to further rain on his parade. Calem, if he wasn't lying about his name, which wouldn't surprise Natsu, walked into the guild hall, hood up and scowl threatening, every day for dinner, a drink, and checking of the latest news about...whatever it was that would kill them all.

What the actual hell was this guy's problem? They were all in the same boat together, so maybe show a little friendliness every now and again, or anything besides the calm, unemotive state he keeps himself in the whole hour he stayed.

Natsu grit his teeth in anger as he stared at and thought about Calem and the recent events, or lack thereof. It was that time again, and Calem had faded into the guild hall and up to the counter for a bowl of stew to a deafening silence and multiple pairs of eyes attempting to disect him. If he was honest, Natsu wouldn't mind of they did.

"That guy," he grumbled into his sleeve while slouching on the table, his own black eyes among the many that stabbed through Calem, "he makes my blood boil." Happy just rolled his eyes, snacking blissfully on his raw fish in front of him.

"Just like Gray does? Or Gajeel? Or-" Happy snickered while munching on his seafood snack, but Natsu kept a lid on his fiery temper.

"Those guys are different. They're annoying, and crazy, and weird, but they're also Fairy Tail, so that means they're family. But Calem...there is something not right about this guy. Call it a hunch, but I don't trust 'im"

"Nobody does, Natsu." Lucy sat down in the booth across from him with a sigh and a plate of donuts, instinctively sliding one over to him, and it was gone as quickly as it got there. "But no matter what we think of him, all of us are in the same predicament, so we'll work with him."

Natsu simply grunted, unable to respond due to the entire donut still in his mouth. 3 weeks had passed, and all anyone did was go on simple, close range jobs as to be available, and wait. The presence of Calem didn't really mean much at all when he was around, besides making the entire place tense. Natsu was sure Fairy Tail could handle whatever threat there was without Calem's help...however he was helping them.

Then it hit him. Nobody cared about what Calem was doing at all. No questions, no curiousity, nothing. Calem was just there. He entered the guild once per day for a meal, but besides that they saw and knew nothing about him.

'Well,' Natsu thought as he swallowed a second donut whole, 'we are just gonna have to change that a bit.' Natsu stood abruptly from his seat and marched in his most dramaticly-angry/annoyed way possible. He felt that if he looked the part, that would surprise the sucker.

"What the hell are you walking like that for?" Natsu stumbled out of his intense focus of how to walk angry, internally and externally. Gray always screwed everything up for him.

"I'm walking angry, what else does it look like?" Natsu held up a defensive fist, a fire held in his throat, but Gray was unperturbed.

"Coulda fooled me. It looked like you had gotten a stick up your ass."

"I agree." Against Natsu's deepest hope, Erza had decided to join the conversation, which was starting to get a few watchers. "Intimidation through anger isn't in the walk, but rather the eyes." The scarlet haired woman finished the last bite of her strawberry cake and put down the plate. "Observe."

Natsu noticed Gray's face drain of all blood flow at the sight of the look Erza gave. He really hoped his face didn't look like that, too. It was unlikely, as Natsu felt himself shaking, sweating, and barely standing under his buckled knees.

"And that's how it's done." Erza pushed her hair out of her face, and anyone that didn't see the look she had given applauded lightly.

Natsu shook himself out of it. He had answers to find. So giving his watered-down version of Erza's glare, he strolled right up to the bar and moved to clamp his hand down onto Calem's shoulder. Calem kept right on lightly blowing at the steaming stew from under his hood, but Natsu felt the muscles in his shoulder tense.

"I've got a bone or three to pick with you, pal." Calem didn't visibly react to the threat, though Natsu didn't really care if he did or didn't. He was gonna get something, anything, out of Calem. If a fight broke out, and a few bones got fractured, Natsu certainly wouldn't mind.

"Can't it wait? I'm hungry, and I've got the feeling that my soup will get cold if I get involved with this conversation."

Natsu, out of shock more than anything, stepped back and blinked. This guy just thought of and fired back a dry remark without so much as a moment to blink. However, it certainly didn't help get him to calm Natsu down. 'The jerkoff. Who does he think he is?' Natsu's thoughts betrayed his objective, but the cryptic bastard wasn't helping his case.

"What are you implying?" Natsu's anger burned more intensely each second the exchange passed. Calem didn't flinch, as he held his postion, firm and unmoving.

"Nothing at all. I just want to finish my meal, which, by the way, is delicious. But I do have other things on my agenda for today."

"Like what?" Natsu's teeth grated in a mix of frustration, anger, and will to contain that anger. He moved his hand fast, slamming it down on the counter in an attempt to psych his verbal sparring partner out. Calem didn't waver, or move, for a second.

"Wouldn't you like to know." The straw broke the camel's back, and Natsu lost it.

"That's it pal, I'm sick of your shit!" With one hand striking flame, Natsu brought his Iron Fist down where Calem was sitting, easily shattering the wooden chair, but not Calem.

He had moved out of the way. Just out of the way, as embers singed the air around him. But Calem still didn't move a muscle. The only thing active were his eyes, as Calem stared with dark brown irises, watching carefully, ready.

Natsu gathered the fire of both hands into his right hand. No way was this asshole gonna beat him.

"Fire Dragon: Crushing Fang!"

Like a matador dodging a bull, Calem rotated his body away from the brutal strike, allowing it to go somewhat harmlessly behind him, splintering the floorboards in several different directions. Natsu growled through his teeth, his eyes fixated on Calem, who lost the coverage of his hood due to the last dodge.

Natsu took in each aspect of the calm expression he wore, despite being under attack. His face had wear beyond the age of 17 that Natsu smelled him at, and Calem's eyes held the hardest of neutral expressions. They had bags under them too, obviously sleep deprived.

'Why is this guy not sleeping? What is he hiding? Goddammit, I'm gonna beat all the answers out of this bastard!' Natsu had a relatively simple plan: Hit hard, hit now, hit a lot. He charged once more.

"Fire Dragon: Talons!" Natsu's heels blazed with bright dragon flames, but the two rapid kicks he swung still wiffed thanks to Calem's quick movements, ducking under a high horizontal and rolling under a diagonal. Natsu's frustration with him only grew, swinging a backhanded strike at Calem's rising body, sure it would connect.

It did in an unintended way. Calem, instead of getting his jaw bashed in, caught Natsu by his striking wrist. Afterwhich, he promptly yawned.

"Sorry, didn't get much sleep last night. None, actually." Natsu's eyebrows twitched, unable to fathom how much he wanted to break every bone in his sleepless foe.

"Sleep later, asshat! Now is time for some answers!"

"I...would like if that were the case, but I can't risk that. It would-" Natsu saw Calem's tired eyes widen. He had realized something.

'What're you thinking about?' Natsu's curiousity never wavered, and he stared directly at his face, as if if he looked hard enough something would happen. Calem avoided eye contact.

"You idiots!" Lucy piped up in the second of silence, interuppting the focus of both combatants. "Do you even know what you guys are fighting about! Natsu, don't be so forceful in getting people to talk about everything! All of us have skeletons in our closets! And Calem, for christ sake, why the hell are you so secretive about every detail?!"

The masses took a unanimous step back, not wanting this enjoyable show between the new guy and Natsu to turn into an intervention.

"Lucy, calm down. How else were we gonna talk to this guy?" Natsu looked from Lucy to Calem, who still avoided eye contact. "Let go of me, by the way."

"Would love to, but..." Calem said to the ceiling then his wrist clasped around Natsu, trailing off. Natsu looked down at the grab he was in, which was nothing but a hand around his wrist, as his curiousity melded into confusion.

"What is your problem?" Natsu noticed Lucy cock an eyebrow and sigh, Happy look ready to make an awful joke, and Calem return his glare, their eyes locking.

It lasted only a second, but that was long enough. Inky blackness began rapidly streaming up Natsu's arm from Calem's flattened palm.

"HOLY SHIT! What the hell is happening?!" Natsu panickedly screamed, an appropriate reaction of your skin slowly turning black, moving at a quick pace up toward his eyes. Most others had a similar reaction. Lucy and Happy kept trying to pull the grip apart, which was not completely caked in darkness, to no avail.

"I'm really sorry about this. Truely." Natsu watched as best he could as Calem looked up at the wooden ceiling with the same black virus crawling up his arm and neck, not panicked. His voice still held the same knowing tone, holding back secrets like always. But there was a difference. This time it was much sadder, as oppossed to the standard neutrality, whenever he did speak, that is.

Natsu didn't have much time to reflect on his observation. He didn't even know if he heard him right. All that he could gather was his vision blurring and blackening as his eyes were covered in the corrupt shadows. Natsu felt his mind fade right along with his vision, and he passed out.

* * *

 _Calem_

* * *

'It's official. I suck at this whole teamwork thing.' Calem thought he was sleeping, on his back with the only thing visible the back of his eyelids. But that couldn't be the case, since he was sure that his eyes were open. Calem checked that he was awake by lifting and staring at his hands. Since he could clearly see and comprehend that they were in fact hands, there was only one remaining possibility.

'I'm in the aether again, aren't I?'

'That appears to be the case, oh unfortunate one.'

'At least this gets rid of my headache. What is it representing now?'

'Seems to be the soul of our firey opponent, Natsu Dragneel.' Calem huffed and pushed himself to his feet, getting used to the light feeling of moving around in an aetherial domain.

'If that is the case, I better start looking for him. Sooner we join up, sooner we get out of here.'

Calem closed his eyes, which didn't change his perspective at all, but helped allowed him to reach out into the endless abyss and find who he was looking for permiting him to began his awkward jog over in the direction he detected Natsu's aetherial image.

'This Natsu...his soul energy is ridiculously bright. In this realm, even a dope could detect it from a few miles away.'

'Assuming there are miles in this realm.' Calem sighed at his doubting-internal ego. Of all the things the soul had to be connected to, it had to be the mind. A mind that held some voice that contradicted, questioned, and joked about his every thought and action.

'I have an idea. Let's swap this vocal connection with one from my appendix. I bet that organ is quieter at the very least.'

The lighter-toned voice didn't respond, and Calem didn't give it a second thought. He had more important things to worry about, like how this affected Natsu's internal balance, mental state, and physical body, since this was his first trip to an aetherial realm, unlike Calem.

Also, he just wanted to leave and protect what remaining anonymity he had left. While he certainly was familiar with the void that the aether was, that didn't mean he enjoyed it.

"I should get moving." Calem spoke aloud to fill the silence as he peered through the shifting blackness, heading in the general direction he felt the other presence was in. Whether Natsu just had an amazing amount of magic power, a particularly strong soul and will, an unwavering mental state or some combation of the 3, Calem didn't know. The only thing that he could process was that his magical pressure was intense and growing with each step.

"I must already be close to him, or he to me." Calem took another glance about, squinting and scanning the vast, empty area. "But the real question in where the-"

"YOU!" Calem didn't need to turn to know who that roar belonged to. But he did it anyway. Through the inky blackness, Natsu was as visible as anything in the real world might've been, which was a good thing. The bad of this particular situation was the expression he held and the dragon fire surrounding his body.

Calem held up his hands, surrendering to Natsu's anger, though his fear was nonexistant.

"I know this looks bad, and I am really sorry this happened, but I can-" Calem watched calmly as Natsu, oblivious to his apology attempt, drove his flaming fist straight into, and through, his head. He felt the heat of his arm where Calem thought his left eye should be, and his lack of nose meant lack of smell. All ability to form words was gone as Calem's thoughts faded into simplictic phrases. It was the only thing his brain could manage, since there was only half of it.

'Heh. I'm a cloud.' Through his right eye, he saw Natsu's completely flaberghasted expression and Calem felt what should be the left side of his face float around in bits and pieces nearby, but failed to register anything about his situation.

Then Natsu ripped his arm away, and at speeds faster than light, each and every particle that was scattered reformed back into Calem's face. And with his face, nose, and mind returning, Calem could see, smell, think, and feel again.

So he promptly began to cough, doubling over onto his hands and knees in an extreme fit of hacking and wheezing.

"What the hell?! What was that?!" Natsu bellowed his questions in the void, but Calem stuck to his coughing, trying contemplate what to say in response in midst of his fit.

"This is the aetherial landscape of your soul. We are just projections, not physical beings." Calem managed to choke out a brief explination before returning to his wheezing.

"What does that mean?! Why is it so empty here!?"

"It means we are intangible. Essences of our minds, personalities, and spirits meeting here, in your soul, until I leave."

"SO GET OUT!" Calem took a breath. Obviously he wasn't familiar with how things worked on an aetherial plane. Of course, only he would be, but Natsu's ignorance still bothered him.

"Easier said than done, dumbass." Calem sucked his anger down. There was no use getting angry. "The only way for me to leave is for one of us to wake up. However, since our minds are preoccupied here, it would be like trying to wake up when you are already awake."

Natsu swore under his breath, and Calem wondered when the next question would come.

"So then how, Mr. Know-it-All?"

'Right now, it seems. This guy sure is taking all this well.' Calem tried to rub his nose, only to stop and remember that he was figmented, and put his arm down.

"You're taking all this soul stuff much better than expected."

"Nope, I just don't understand any of it. So I decided to think about it later, once we get out of here."

Calem sighed. There went his chance at a possible breakthrough. Not like it mattered, though. His business was his burden, and he would do what he must to keep everyone else ignorant to it.

"We should find the center of this place. We can jumpstart your mind from there." And with that, Calem tucked all his feelings back deep in his soul, locking them up, and throwing away the key. As soon as he did that, he began to walk.

"Well, come on Natsu of Fairy Tail. I invaded your soul, the least I can do is find the way out."

Calem didn't wait to see if Natsu was following, or for him to question anything he just said in the previous exchange. He just started walking. It didn't matter which direction he went, as they all led to the same place if you walked long enough. So Calem walked and let his thoughts travel elsewhere.

 _Calem felt his breathing suddenly quicken, his mind racing over the experience he just had. Thought patterns roped around him, and he had no idea how to calm himself down. His hands went to his knees and Calem blinked a number of times in an attempt to restore sight, to no avail. It wasn't until a gentle hand clasped on his shoulder that Calem finally began to regulate his hyperventilation._

 _"Calm down, Calem. You're in the real world again." Calem remembered that he nodded multiple times, blinking tears out of his eyes and rubbing the blur from his vision. "That'll happen sometimes. Don't wory about it, your vision will return quicker the more times you venture back from the aether. It was your first time after all" He recalled looking up to see the smiling face of his mother._

 _His mother was a beautiful woman, even sitting mirror his cross-legged positioning and in but simple sweatpants and a short-sleeved shirt. She had the same jet black hair and deep brown eyes that seemed to run in the family. But what was different about her from her son, and most others in Calem's immediate family, was that she smiled a lot, despite their clan's magic and self-proclaimed duty to protect society from the darkness, in the darkness._

 _And Calem could never help but smile back at her._

 _"Inside a soul is a dangerous place. As you saw, it's pitch-black, big, and everything looks the same. The longer you stay, the more mogic it takes to keep the visiting soul intact. You're on a constant time-limit, so once you get lost, it is next to impossible to get out." Calem continued to knead his left eye, not knowing when his sight would return. It had faded back in a little, but everything was still a dark yellow color with a bunch of black spots all over the place._

 _His mother, despite the grim topic, still smiled and continued to explain._

 _"The easiest way out is to find where the soul's center, you remember what it felt like, right?" Calem nodded through rapid blinking. How could he forget what felt like walking through fire with a splitting migrane while carrying a few tons of bricks?_

 _"That's where the soul connects to the mind and heart. Once you find the mind, it's simple to work your way to and out the eye, where you will then be instantly wisked into your own body." Calem didn't really understand what she was saying. He would need more practice going in and out of an aetherial realm. Plus, he recalled, he was starting to worry about the sight in his left eye._

 _But one look at his mother through his good, right eye showed her still brilliant smile and striking features. She crawled over to him, moved the fist that was digging into his eye and planted a soft poke on said eye. Instantly his vision cleared, and so Calem returned the smile to show his clarity had returned._

 _"Of course, the whole 'wisking' bit has side effects." She began to laugh a contagious laugh, and Calem couldn't help but chuckle with her._

He shook himself out of the memory. He had to stay focused, keep together. Now wasn't the time for reminescening about his younger, better days. Now was the time to get the hell out of this place. So Calem extended his range, trying to detect the feeling of the soul's core.

And then he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited with as much patience as he could bear.

His range crawled farther and farther every second he waited, expending his supply of magic with each minute gone by. There was nothing, just vast emptiness with a strikingly powerful aura around this void.

Calem continued his magical investigation, ignoring the fact that the sheer strength of this soul felt a little unnatural. It didn't matter. What mattered was getting out. He must be close to his time limit by-

'THERE!' His eyes shot open, and Calem whipped around in the direction where he felt the center was, cutting off any previous trails of thought in exchange for an unwaverring focus on the spot he knew he must go.

So, once more, Calem started walking.

* * *

 **The more I read my own story, the more similarities to Bleach I find. I don't want to go that route, I'm not even the biggest Bleach fan, but it's just the way it happens. I say this every time, so everyone that reads this probably knows that it won't come to pass, but I'll TRY to post quicker. Christmas break is coming up soon, so during that week off I hope to get some things done. R &R if you so choose, and have a Merry Christmas (because I probably won't be posting anything beforehand).**


End file.
